With one event remaining in the entire championship meet and leading by the miniscule margin of one point, the Hopkins men’s track team knew it would take every last ounce of their energy, determination, and effort to be victorious at the Centennial Conference Championships in Collegeville, Pa. this past Saturday. Leading by one against a dangerous Haverford College opponent, the team of senior Rob Martin, freshman Colin O’Connor, junior Andrew Carey and junior Colin Rozanski lead the Blue Jays in the 4x400-meter relay to finish second, three places above Haverford, and first overall to capture their first Conference Championship in the program’s history. By defeating Haverford by three places in the final event, the Jays were able to secure a first place finish with 168 points. Haverford, who had won the championship 12 out of the past 13 years, finished second with a score of 163 points while Ursinus College and Dickinson College tied for third place with 94 points each.
The 4x400 race seemed in doubt when Martin limped painfully through the first exchange, holding his hamstring after taking a shove with only 50 meters to go in his leg. However, Rozanski refused to let the opportunity slip away and bolted around the track to reach O’Connor. O’Connor and Carey came through in the clutch to secure second place and the championship. “It was without a doubt the hardest I ran all season long,” said O’Connor. “I felt exhausted afterward, but securing the win made the fatigue disappear. This was a huge win and a great performance from the team. We showed every team in the conference what we’re made of.”
Several strong individual performances supported the Jays throughout the entirety of the meet. Junior Alex Jebb had a monstrous meet, competing in four events and finishing in or near the top three places in each of them. He was the foundation of the Blue Jays strong performance in the Heptathlon, coming in second overall, followed by fellow teammates sophomore Michael Spadaro, sophomore Ryan Walsh, and freshman Devin Conley. Jebb was responsible for accumulating 22 of the 168 points earned by the Blue Jays throughout the meet, finishing his day off strong with a second place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 13.25 meters. His individual performances in various events guided the Jays towards victory at Collegeville.
Another notable performer for the men on Saturday was sophomore Alex Naticchia who participated in two events, the long jump competition and the 200-meter dash. He tacked on several key points for Hopkins, including an impressive first place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.76 meters, two hundredths of a meter further than the runner up from Ursinus. To accompany this achievement, Naticchia had another strong performance in the 200 meter dash finishing second overall with a time of 23.06 seconds.
Various Hopkins track stars placed high in crucial events that aided the victory of the Blue Jays at the conference championships. Rozanski continued to add to his highlight reel, turning in a record time of 51.30 seconds in the 400-meter dash. This time earned him a second place finish and was a personal and season best for Rozanski in the 400-meter event. Sophomore Paul Vozzo also notched a second place finish in the pole vault competition with a jump of 4.10 meters. Junior Max Robinson was able to finish third in the 5,000 meter race followed shortly thereafter by fellow teammate freshman Schaffer Ochstein to earn a string of points for the Blue Jays. Walsh also continued to have a successful day by leaping 1.85 meters in the high jump event to place third.
This past weekend at the Centennial Conference Championships will certainly go down as one of the greatest upsets in Division III track history as the Blue Jays played the role of spoiler, knocking off Haverford despite the Fords being heavily favored to win a 13th championship over the past 14 years. “It was an amazing and well-deserved win,” reflected Devin Conley. “We were underestimated from the beginning of the year and not favored to do well in the conference championships. But we proved everyone wrong on Saturday and made history for the Hopkins track program. It’s a memory that I’ll never forget.” The Blue Jays have certainly impressed many people and shocked opponents along the way to their victory at Collegeville this past Saturday. The team has set high standards for future teams to live up to in seasons to come. Hopkins will continue to practice and prepare for the ECAC championships coming up next weekend, using the invitational as a final chance to tune up and send athletes to the NCAA Championships in Naperville, IL. But for now, having made history after capturing the first conference championship in the existence of the Hopkins men's track program, the Blue Jays certainly deserve to celebrate their victory after defeating numerous teams along the way.
From the first event to the last, the Hopkins Women’s Track and Field team steamrolled, outran, and outhustled their opponents, easily capturing its third straight Centennial Conference Championship in three consecutive years. Simply put, the Lady Jays dismantled their opponents and set championship and conference records in the process. They successfully won 10 of 18 events in the meet, scored the most points by a single team in championship history with 231,and won by the greatest margin of victory ever recorded in conference championship history with a margin of 129. The runner-up schools, Haverford and Muhlenberg College, tied for second with a mere 92 points a piece. The Lady Jays were the favored contenders heading into the conference championship and certainly proved that they deserved to finish up the season by crushing every opponent that stood in their way.
Junior Emily Swenson was the star of the meet and was honored with the outstanding field performer award for the entire championship for her first place finishes in the shot put and the pentathlon. She surpassed her previous personal record and set the new conference record in the shot put event with a throw of 13.57 meters. Senior Alana Merkow came in second in the shot put event with a throw of 12.49 meters, securing vital points for the team. Swenson dominated, shattering the previous Hopkins record in the 60-meter hurdles, claiming first in the race with a time of 9.49 seconds. Senior Kristen Spera followed closely behind to claim the silver while freshman Paige Marsh finished 4th, achieving a large amount of points for the Lady Jays.
Several individual performances powered the Jays past all of their opponents. Freshman Imoni McCorvey broke her previous record and the conference record in the triple jump with an incredible leap of 11.74 meters to claim the gold and move up in national rankings. Senior Annie Monagle performed admirably in the 800-meter run, finishing with a time of 2:15.29 to beat out the two time champion from Franklin and Marshall College. Spera continued her successful performance by placing first in the long jump with a leap of 5.15 meters as the Lady Jays claimed the first, third, and fourth places in the competition. The freshman duo of Megan McDonald and Hannah Oneda claimed gold medals and first place finishes in their respective events to add to a list of successful finishes throughout the season. McDonald edged her opponents in the 400-meter dash by a tenth of a second while Oneda obliterated all opponents in the 3,000 meter run with an incredible time of 9:55.75. Freshman Brynn Parsons secured second and third place finishes in the 200 meter and 60 meter sprints respectively, setting the Hopkins freshman record in the 200 meter sprint with a time 26.66 seconds.
Throughout the entirety of the conference championship, the Lady Jays showed tremendous depth in the relay, sprint, hurdles, distance, and field events as a variety of competitors finished in first and second. They simply could not be taken down by any of the fellow conference teams as they dominated every single event that they competed in throughout the entirety of the day. The Lady Jays were extremely successful throughout the season and continued to carry their momentum into the championships where they were victorious for the third straight consecutive season. The Lady Jays look forward to traveling to the ECAC Championships next weekend to get mentally and physically prepared for the NCAA Championships in Naperville, IL on March 8th and 9th. They look strong, prepared, and determined to continue their streak of dominance as they head into next weekend’s invitational.
