At the Hopkins-Loyola Invitational on April 14, the Hopkins men and women’s track teams had stout competition. Both teams placed high in the majority of races and got strong performances from freshman and seniors alike. The men’s team, led by junior Andrew Carey, finished second in the highly competitive invitational.
“Overall, we ran very well as a team even with runners competing in events they do not usually participate in”, said the lanky, 6’4” Carey.
However, the story of the day on the men’s side was Carey’s performance. Carey broke a 31-year-old program record in the 1500-meter race that was previously held by John Roemer.
Overall, the race was very satisfying, not only because I set the record, but because I got to compete against some of my best friends on the team: Max Robinson, Julian Saliani and Tyler Saunders,” Carey said. “I also got to meet John Roemer, the former record holder. Afterwards he congratulated me and we took a picture. It was pretty cool to have alumni support, especially from a runner such as himself. To break the record with Roemer in attendance was very humbling.”
As Carey alluded to, he was supported by fantastic performances across the board by the rest of his teammates. Max Robinson finished a close third in the race and sophomore Julian Saliani finished fifth in the event. The 4x400 relay team of Justin Grant, Bryan Ricciardi, Sam Gottuso and Ryan Alvarez won its event by three seconds over York (PA). In the field events, Alex Jebb placed second in the long jump and third in the triple and Paul Vozzo finished third in the pole vault by clearing 4.10 meters.
The Lady Jays took first overall in the Hopkins-Loyola Invitational, highlighted by the performance of super-star freshman, Katherine Hamlet. Hamlet broke a 28-year-old program record in the high jump by clearing 5’3” on her second leap.
“It is fulfilling to contribute significantly to my team’s efforts and I am proud that I helped the team in achieving yet another impressive win,” the 5’10” freshman from Voorhees, New Jersey said. “Since my Hopkins career began, I have been looking forward to leaving my mark on the program. I not only scored points for my team, but also set a record, which myself and other high jumpers may strive to beat in the future.”
Hamlet’s jump earned her a second place finish in the event. Six Lady Jays won events in the competition and the team accumulated 216 points, doubling the total of the second place finisher, Salisbury (112.50). Hopkins got another brilliant showing from freshman Hannah Oneda, who set the program record in the 1500-meter race. Hopkins women Maggie Shelton, Ingrid Johnson, and Alexandra Popkin swept the podium in the 800-meter run with times of 2:13.97, 2:18.08 and 2:18.29, respectively. Senior Annie Monagle continues to shine in distance races for Hopkins. She set a personal record of her own in the 5000m to finish just ahead of teammate Abby Flock and win the event.
Hopkins sprinters also placed well with Kelley Hussey breaking 13 seconds with a 12.95 in the 100m and Chloe Ryan running the fastest time of her career with a 26.65 in the 200m. The women’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams won their events, as well, while both running their best times of the season.
Hopkins ladies finished their dominant showing with commanding performances in the field events. Freshman Imoni McCorvey and Remington Ricciuti led the way for Hopkins by posting top times for Hopkins in jumping events. McCorvey won the triple jump with an 11.09m bound and Ricciuti finished second in the long jump by re-breaking her freshman record with 5.17-meter leap. Steeplechase athletes Maggie Hashmall and Frances Dougherty improved drastically on their best personal times of their careers to help Hopkins perform well in seemingly every event in the competition.
Both the men’s and women’s team are running faster as the year goes on in preparation for the upcoming Conference Championship and ensuing NCAA Championship. Both teams will next compete at Widener University in Chester, PA with the intentions of continuing their impressive showings.
