Wrapping up their regular season this past Saturday, the men’s track team traveled to Haverford, Pa. to compete in the Keogh Invitational.
With high goals set on the season, the Jays brought a strong performance to set them up nicely as they head into the conference championships.
One of the highlights of the afternoon came from freshman Andrew Bartnett, breaking his freshman record in the pole vault. With a previous record of 4.65 meters, Bartnett won the event after clearing 4.70 meters.
“I was really happy when I cleared 4.70, however the real goal is to qualify for nationals. To get to nationals I need to jump 4.80 meters, so in my mind, 4.70 meters is just a stepping stone to higher heights that will get me into the post season,” Bartnett said. Bartnett took the first place position with the next leading score coming in at 4.26 meters.
Another highlight performance on Saturday came from freshman Mitchell Keller. In the shot put Keller threw his best throw in an inter-conference meet this year at 12.75 meters.
“Mostly what it means to me is that I am going to be able to be helpful in the conference championship. Everyone on the team is so good at what they do and I am just glad that I will be able to maybe score points at conferences and help the team out,” Keller said.
Keller has already set the freshman shot put record at Hopkins.
“My biggest goal in the post season is to win a medal in the shot put (first, second or third place gets a medal). We have not had a shot put medalist at the conference championships since Luke Sand who graduated two years ago. Our team goal is to win the Centennial Conference championship, we are all extremely proud of our cross country team for winning their championship in the fall and we would like to follow them up by winning indoor track and hopefully even outdoor track to complete the triple crown. We have all been working extremely hard throughout the season and we know that if we all do our jobs then we can definitely pull of a victory,” Keller said.
Bartnett is also looking forward to a possible triple crown.
“All season this track and field team has had 1 goal and that is to take the triple crown, which is winning cross country conferences, indoor conferences, and outdoor conferences. And I believe we are going to do it, because there are so many people on our team who are not only good at their one event, but also excel in 3 or 4 events. And with such a balanced team the points start to add up,” Bartnett said.
As the conference championships approach, tensions rise and focus begins to drift, however Coach Bobby Van Allen has complete confidence in his team to stay focused.
“It’s a challenge with the way our season is set up, but it’s also the nature of our sport where you have to be focused on things like this. In that regard, it makes it a little easier to get the team excited for the upcoming meet, and ready to reap the benefit of the last several months and longer of hard work they’ve all put in. The men won on the very last event last year, and we have so many great teams in the conference it won’t be an easy feat this year either. But we’ve put in our work and are very balanced, so if we take care of our own business, I think we’ll be in great position for the men to win the title,” Van Allen said.
The Hopkins men’s track team will travel back to Haverford this Saturday and Sunday for the Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
