On Feb. 7, the Hopkins men and women’s track teams travelled up north to Boston to compete in the Boston University Valentine Invitational. It was a record setting day for both squads, as both teams set numerous season, personal and school records. For the men, sophomore Trevor Holmgren set the school record in the 800 meter with a time of 1:53.04, breaking the record set by teammate senior Andrew Carey in the Bison Open at Bucknell just over a week before. The two runners now rank in the top five nationally in the event, and the top two in school history.
Sophomore Schaffer Ochstein set the Hopkins record in the 5000 meter race with a time of 14:42.46, vaulting him into the top-15 nationally. Freshman Stefan Arnold came close to setting the school record in the indoor 3000 meter race with a time of 8:36.87, Arnold did, however, set the school record for a freshman. Carey moved into the top-20 nationally in the mile with a time of 4:12.36, and freshman Andrew Bartnett tied his personal record in the pole vault by clearing a jump of 4.65 meters, just shy of the school indoor record of 4.67 meters.
For the women, sophomore Megan McDonald now sits atop the school record book in the 400 meter run with a time of 57.34. McDonald was also a part of the record-breaking 4X400 relay team, which included sophomore Emily Nordquist, junior Ingrid Johnson and senior Maggie Shelton. The four turned in a time of 3:55.43, which easily broke the previous record by eight seconds, set just one week ago.
In the 800, Shelton set a personal record for the second week in a row, finishing in 2:11.41, good to retain the top position nationally in the event. Freshman Tess Meehan set the team season record in the mile, with a time of 5:02.33. Lastly, junior Frances Loeb set a career-best in the 5000 with a time of 17:08, which was also good for the team season record.
Holmgren attributed his record-breaking success in the meet to the senior leadership on the team. “For me (being) from the west coast, indoor racing is still a little unfamiliar, but I am honored to work with and learn from more experienced team members like Andrew Carey,” Holmgren said. “I can hardly wait to see what new record he is breaking and I am just thrilled if I can stay not too far behind.”
Carey stated that the success was also due to the fast track and deep competition at the meet. “BU is a super fast track and the competition there is pretty deep," he remarked. "It's a lot easier to run fast when the other people in your heat are running fast too.”
Holmgren commented on the team’s goals moving forward. “The team has had a great indoor season so far and we are committed to working hard so that we have more chances to improve our records at the Centennial Conference and beyond,” he said.
Both teams next compete at the Keogh Invitational at Haverford on Feb. 22,with Centennial Conference Championships also taking place at Haverford a week later. We wish both teams luck as they wrap up their indoor season and transition into the outdoor portion of their season.
