The 13th ranked men’s track and field team traveled to Chester, Pa. to compete in the Widener Invitational meet. Many Hopkins athletes had strong performances in this two-day meet to make it a successful weekend for the Jays.
On the first day, freshman Stuart Walters won the triple jump with a jump of 13.63 meters (44’8.75”). The jump broke the freshman record for the event of 13.44 meters (44’1.25”) set in 2012 and was previously held by Michael Spadaro.
Fellow freshman Andrew Bartnett cleared 4.50 meters (14’9.25”) in the pole vault for a share of the title with Villanova’s Chris Dougherty.
“I was thinking going into this meet that I was going to continue to work to hit my goals for this year and at least clear 16 feet," Bartnett said. "Having not achieved this I had to go back through and assess what I did wrong so that I does not happen again. Each failure is a learning experience.”
Junior Paul Vozzo placed third in the event, clearing 4.35 meters.
Junior Andrew Ceruzzi led the Jays in the 5000 meter run by finishing 10th overall with a time of 15:08.17.
“There were some really great performances and some other performances that indicate we still need to prepare very hard for conferences,” Ceruzzi said. “The men are looking to finally win their first outdoor title and that is 100 percent the focus at this point. Moving forward, we are sending a large group of guys to Penn relays on Thursday to try and run national qualifying times. That will be very exciting.”
On the second day of the Widener Invitational, senior Brendan Evans ran an 11.03 100 meter dash to place second overall. Walters was fourth in the event with a time of 11.16. Evans later would win the long jump with a distance of 6.54 meters (21’5.50”).
Freshman Jesse Poore placed fifth overall in the 200 meter dash. His time of 22.76 was the fastest for Hopkins in the event.
Senior Collin Rozanski finished second with a time of 49.84 in the 400 meter dash.
"This season my goal has been to break 49 seconds in the 400 meter dash, being the second runner at Hopkins to do so in the school history, but unfortunately I did not have a great meet, so I am looking forward to running at Penn Relays this coming Friday with the 4x4 team,” Rozanski said. “Luckily the underclassmen in my event picked up my slack though. Both Jesse Poore and [freshman] Ray Isales ran great times, and as a senior it is very comforting knowing that the event will be in their hands moving forwards.”
Senior Julian Saliani finished fourth overall in the 1500 meter run, finishing in 3:54.88. Saliani’s time now ranks 26th in the nation in all of Division III.
The Jays 4x100 relay team of Walters, Evans, Poore and junior Alex Naticchi placed second with a time of 42.85.
The track and field team will travel to Philadelphia to compete at the University of Pennsylvania in the Penn Relays this weekend, from April 24 to April 26.
