Track excels in the steeplechase at home

This past weekend the Hopkins men’s and women’s track and field teams witnessed outstanding performances at their only home meet of the year. Before hosting Saturday’s competition, the teams’ field athletes traveled to Emmitsburg, Md. to compete in the Mount Multi Meet hosted by Mount St. Mary’s University.

Several Hopkins athletes had their best performances of the season thus far at the Multi Meet.

For the men, senior Devin Conley competed in the decathlon, finishing the 10 events with a score of 6,394. The highlight of the senior’s performance was his finish in the high jump and long jump. He now leads the Conference in both of these events along with his overall decathlon score.

Conley’s performance was accompanied by equally impressive performances on the women’s side. Sophomore Jenn Su and senior Paige Marsh finished first and second, respectively, in the heptathlon.

Su’s finish in the javelin throw leads the Centennial Conference rankings, while Marsh’s high jump broke the outdoor record for Hopkins. Both of the Jays finished with scores in the heptathlon that broke the previous Hopkins record.

Then next day, the Jays brought the action back to Baltimore for the Hopkins/Loyola University Invitational. The climax of the day for the men was seen during the distance events. In the 5000 meter run, sophomore Brandon Fielder led the team with a third place finish followed by senior teammate Schaffer Ochstein in sixth.

Senior Billy Scola won the 3000 meter steeplechase with a personal record that shattered his previous best race time by 13 seconds.

From the start, Scola and his teammate, freshman Giacomo Taylor, led the way, but with two laps to go Scola took over. The Jays crossed the line capturing first and second place in the event.

“I definitely wanted to win,” Scola said. “But I did not want to get my hopes up too much.”

The competition had Scola skeptical before the race as the top five men were seeded eight seconds ahead of his previous personal best. Still, Scola went away with the win. The senior will focus on the steeplechase, eyeing a top three finish in the Conference Championship.

Not only did the Jays take home the first place finish in the men’s steeplechase, but freshman Tasha Freed secured the win in the women’s race as well.

This was the freshman’s first time racing in the 3000 meter steeplechase, which involves 7.5 laps around the track while dodging 28 barriers and seven water hazards. Clocking a 11:32 finish, Freed crossed the line in first closely followed by her teammates: junior Lara Gaffney in second and sophomore Ellie Burton in fifth.

“Being new to the event, it was incredibly helpful to have older teammates and great coaches to give me advice while training and racing,” Freed said.

Clocking a 11:32 finish, Freed crossed the line in first followed closely by her teammates, junior Lara Gaffney in second and sophomore Ellie Burton in fifth. Freed will likewise continue to focus on the steeplechase heading into the Conference Championship later in the season.

Along with the Lady Jay’s success in the steeple, the women also encountered exceptional performances in the middle distance events. Sophomore Caroline Smith placed second in the 1500m run, crossing the line in a personal-best time of 4:36. She was followed closely by her freshmen teammates, Felicia Koerner and Gina D’Addario, who also performed well.

Smith trailed the first place finisher, a senior from American, by less than three seconds. Later, the sophomore came back to compete in the 800m run, where she crossed the line in sixth with an impressive time of 2:16.

The Jays expressed how nice it was to have a home crowd for a change, and many got to enjoy the Spring Fair atmosphere after their meet. There was a substantial crowd on hand at the track to support the runners.

Next week, the track team will be back to compete as they travel down to Westchester, Pa. for the Widener Invitational.