Last weekend, the men’s track team set out to Haverford, Pa. to take part in the Haverford Invitational. The team had high hopes going into their final competition before the start of the second semester. The day surely lived up to their expectations.
Highlighting the day was freshman, Jesse Poore. The recently named Centennial Conference Field Player of the Week broke the Hopkins freshman record in the long jump. His record breaking jump of 6.57m was followed up by a dominant lead role in the 4x400 meter relay in which the team placed first. To top off his day, he finished fourth in the 200 meter race with a time of 23.75 seconds and fifth in the 400 meter run with a time of 52.12 seconds.
“Since the spring semester hadn't begun, we used the past few weeks to train intensely,” Poore said. “In my case, I used this period to transition from football to track. Going into the Haverford meet, our team was really focused on improving times/marks and how well we could compete against conference-rival Haverford. I knew I would be exhausted, having to compete in four events, so I knew I had to focus on staying relaxed mentally and taking care of my body right throughout the meet. This meet was my first chance to jump so I was hoping I could start off on a high note. I knew the mark I had to hit to get the freshman record, but I didn't want to aim to better it, but rather jump my farthest, whether it be under or below the record. Setting a freshman record feels amazing. The fact that I was able to make the record books so soon is a real blessing. With four years ahead of me I feel very confident about my individual potential and also in my ability to contribute to the team's success.”
The success for Hopkins did not stop with Poore. Hopkins managed to dominate many events of the competition. Collin Rozanski and Ryan Walsh, a senior and junior respectively, both won their events. Rozanski gave the Blue Jays a first place finish in the 400 meter race with a time of 51.22 seconds while Walsh came out on top of the high jump contest for the second time in three weeks with a height of 1.92 meters.
To compliment some first place finishes, senior distance runner Andrew Carey set a personal record in the 3000 meter run. His time of 8:38:62 fell just short of setting the school record. Furthermore, sophomore Trevor Holmgren placed third in the 800 meter run and freshman Mitch Keller placed third in the shot put.
As the team continues to make huge leaps in the right direction, they refuse to become satisfied. Both individually and as a team they are setting their sights high on the track and in the field. Poore made this very clear.
“This year we're setting the bar high. The primary goal is to do what a Hopkins men's team hasn't done in a long time, which is win the outdoor conference championship. But we also want to be able to compete at a national level. We have a lot of talent this year and we hope to send a handful of individuals and maybe relays to the D3 championships. Thinking ahead can get us in trouble, though, so we have to take one meet at a time, from the indoor season into outdoor. Personally, my goal is to qualify for NCAA's in one of my events. This year, the coaching staff made it a priority to set high but realistic goals. So, as I look forward to competing at conference's, I don't want to become complacent and limit myself if I'm capable of breaking other records and competing on the national level.”
Hopkins will return to action this Friday and Saturday at the Bison Open in Lewisburg, Pa. They look to carry their positive momentum into this week's events at Bucknell.
