On a day that saw a staggering 17 men’s facility records fall, the Blue Jays’ men’s track and field team placed second at the Hopkins/Loyola Invitational. The Blue Jays scored 86 points at the Hopkins/Loyola Track and Field Complex on Saturday. For the second consecutive year, Salisbury won the event with 114 points. Buffalo State finished third with 80 points.
Senior Andrew Carey continued his recent streak of dominance on Saturday, breaking a facility and Hopkins record that he had previously set in the 1500 meter event. Carey ran the race in 3:48.57, easily topping his previous best and event record time of 3:56.07 to take first place. The Centennial Conference men’s track athlete of the week now ranks first in the nation in both the 1500 and the 800 meter, having run the 800 in 1:50.95 at the Stanford Invitational earlier in the month.
“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Cary said when asked about his recent string of success. “I keep improving and each week it seems like I break a new record. I just feel bad for the people at Hopkinssports.com who keep having to write about me. I certainly can go faster, though. I’m as confident as I’ve ever been, and that makes racing a lot easier. The main goal is to win nationals in the 800 or 1500 or preferably both.”
Also finding success at the Hopkins/Loyola Invitational was freshman Andrew Bartnett, setting a personal-best in the pole vault in an already accolade-packed debut season to win the event. Bartnett cleared 5.00 meters (16’ 4.75”), shattering the 14-year-old outdoor record previously held by Brian Nichols at 4.88 meters (16’ 0.00”). Bartnett now owns the indoor, outdoor and facility records for the Jays in the pole vault, and is tied for first in the nation in the event.
“Every athlete strives to perform the best that he/she can in any sport, and what is going to keep me going is that I am not at that level yet," said Barnett when asked about what he has left to work for after becoming the best pole vaulter in the nation as a freshman. “And until I reach that level, I am going to keep working as hard as I can to get there."
Senior Collin Rozanski also found himself atop the medal podium, taking home first place in the 400 meter dash in 49.20 seconds to beat Jonte Miles of Howard Community College by .17 seconds. Rozanski was also the top Blue Jay in the 200 meter dash with a 22.42 second finish to take 11th place in the event.
On the field side of the meet, junior Ryan Walsh tied for the gold in the high jump. He jumped 2.00 meters to tie for first with Wagner’s Matthew Kane. Senior Brendan Evans finished fourth in the long jump, clearing 6.75 meters. Evans also finished seventh in the triple jump, putting together a jump of 12.65 meters.
In the 3,000 meter steeple, Hopkins took both first and second place. Junior Austin Stecklair ran it in 9:36.53 to take the gold, breaking the Hopkins/Loyola. Fellow junior Andrew Ceruzzi finished not far behind in 9:42.45 to claim second place.
Freshman Stefan Arnold won his first event of his outdoor season and career, taking the 5,000 meter race title with a time of 15:25.77. Other Jays found success in the 5,000 meter race as well, with senior Nathan Dordi taking 15th place in 16:19.18 and sophomore Billy Scola finishing right behind him in 16th with a time of 16:25.33.
“This is our best team ever and it was a perfect day to run," said Carey. “I think everyone was in good spirits and excited to race. When that happens, people run fast."
The men’s track and field team will next compete at the Mount Saint Mary’s Multi’s and Widener Invitational on April 17, 18 and 19. They hope to improve on their already strong outdoor season with another stellar performance at these meets.
