This past week, the Hopkins men’s track team began their season at the Raleigh Relays and Maryland Invitational.
The track team trekked down to North Carolina for the weekend, where the hurdlers and sprinters posted excellent showings. Notable standouts included the 4X200 meter relay team of sophomore Jesse Poore, senior Justin Grant, sophomore Dan Camous, and senior Alex Naticchia, who collectively set a new school record with a time of 1:31.47.
The prior record time had been established all the way back in 2004, making the fall of such a long standing record an even more pivotal achievement for this strong relay group.
“I feel as if this is a testament to how great our training is and how great our coaches are,” senior Grant said. “My teammates could not be better; they push me every single day so that I have to be at my best to not let them down.”
Another noted standout at Raleigh was sophomore Andrew Bartnett, who overcame treacherous conditions to finish first with a vault of over 5.00 meters on his first attempt.
Meanwhile, a number of Hopkins performers produced standout results at the Maryland Invitational. In the 3000 meter steeplechase event, junior distance runner Billy Scola ran and hurdled his way to a third place finish. He tallied a crucial six points for Hopkins in the process. When asked to comment on his own performance, Scola said that he hoped the early season momentum would propel him to a strong finish at Conference Championships.
“I’m hoping to be a contender for a top eight finish in the steeplechase at the conference championships,” Scola said. “It would be great to score points and contribute to the success of the team.”
Scola also mentioned that he was excited to see his senior teammates in action, many of whom have accomplished great feats during their careers and will look to end the season on a particularly positive note.
“I know we are certainly looking to take home the conference title as a team. Senior Andrew Ceruzzi became the first ever Hopkins runner to win the men’s 5000m at indoor conferences, and it would be really special to watch him take home the first ever outdoor 5000m win,” Scola said. “He’s a really hard worker and loved by everyone on the team, so it’s really motivating for everyone to see him succeed at such a high level. Across the board, I think we can be pretty dominant. The pole vaulters and decathletes, led by seniors Paul Vozzo and Michael Spadaro have a chance to dominate their events and really carry us to a team title.”
In the javelin, sophomore thrower Tom Boucher led the Hopkins javelin squad in the face of less than ideal conditions. His 5th place finish led all performers on the squad, but Boucher was quick to point out the collective successes of all his other teammates, who look to accomplish great things together.
“We were throwing in less than ideal conditions so Coach Dunn, the field coach, told us not to strain ourselves and risk injury so we all went out there and just threw comfortably. Personally I thought about every throw as if we were at practice,” Boucher said. “It was not the meet to go for a personal record and hurt ourselves in the process. When they read out our distances, I was really proud of our jav squad. We’re a close knit group and push each other in practice so when we do well on a day like yesterday, it makes me think about the possibilities when the conditions are better. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
Other notable performers at the Maryland Invitational included distance runners freshman Panth Patel and sophomore Akshay Alaghatta, who finished 6th and 7th respectively in the 5000 meter, and junior mid-distancer Trevor Holmgren who finished 4th in the 800 meter.
“For this final campaign I believe that we are going to win another conference championship through our intense bond and teamwork. We just want to leave everything out on the track and have no regrets over the next five weeks,” Grant said.
The Jays are projected to finish atop the conference this year and the athletes have made it apparent that they are ready to get the ball rolling on the season.
