This past Saturday, the men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled down to Fairfax, Va. to race in the 2016 Mason Spring Invitational. At the meet, hosted by George Mason University, Hopkins faced a competitive field consisting of mostly D-I teams.
The Jays were able to hold their own against the tough competition and grim racing conditions. The near-freezing temperature, hail and 30 mph winds did not stop the Jays from continuing their successful season on the track.
The women were led in the sprints by senior Megan McDonald, who raced in both the 100m and the 200m. She clocked times of 13.02 and 26.89 in the events, respectively. In the 400m race, teammate sophomore Caroline Smith also had a great performance despite the conditions. The sophomore, who normally competes in mid-distance events, finished the one lap sprint in a time of 1:02.45.
The middle-distance crew also had a successful showing at the Invite. The Jays were led in the 800m race by freshman Gina D’Addario, who crossed the line with a time of 2:23.83. Just two seconds behind D’Addario was her classmate Erin Brush, who crossed the line with a time of 2:25. Impressively, this was the D’Addario’s first race back after three months of nursing an injury during the indoor season.
“I did not think I was going to be the top Hopkins finisher,” D’Addario said. “I just wanted to race and did not care what time I got. I got on the line and just ran through the wind as fast as I could.”
The freshman will continue to focus on the middle-distance events, primarily the 800m and the 1500m races, going forward this season. With a strong start to her spring season, D’Addario is hopeful to compete at the Conference Championship. The race, which takes place toward the end of the year, would give her the chance to compete against some of the top girls in the Conference.
The Hopkins men similarly saw some strong performances throughout the day. The mid-distance team was led by sophomore Brandon Fielder in the 1500m race.
Fielder crossed the line in 4:03.31 followed by his teammates senior Sam Gottuso and senior Billy Scola.
However, it was the field events that were the highlight of the day for the men’s team. Junior Andrew Bartnett added another first place finish to his successful year. Bartnett won the pole vault at the Mason Invite against a stacked D-1 field, jumping to a height of 5.20m. Bartnett was followed by sophomore teammate Alex Kossak, who successfully cleared a height of 4.18m.
Although the teams finished with slower times than usual due to the harsh wind conditions, Hopkins finished the day with several solid performances.
At the conclusion of the meet, the Dartmouth College women took the team title with a total of 120 points along with the Navy men, who totaled 131 points.
This weekend, Hopkins will be back to compete at the Multi Meet on Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday, the Jays will compete in their only home meet of the year at the Hopkins/ Loyola track.
“Since the weather is finally nice, everyone is eager to run fast times because there should be some good competition,” D’Addario said. “Hopefully some of us will qualify for nationals.”
Excited for the home event, both the men’s and women’s teams are eager to face the stiff competition ahead. Likewise, they are hoping to see some fast times and personal bests on their home track. The Hopkins/Loyola Invitational is planned to kick off this Saturday, April 16, at 10 a.m.
It will be one of the team’s last tune-ups before conference and then regional and national championships. Expectations are running high considering the success both teams have had already this year.
