The rest of the field was chasing ghosts Saturday, as seniors Brittny Boyd and Angela Tecco both had career days on their home turf at the New Jersey Invitational. Five different Lions received NCAA provisional tallies, but Boyd and Tecco's combined for an astounding four NCAA provisional marks in one meet.
Boyd had three NCAA provisional qualifications, one coming in the 100-meter, in which she finished third with a time of 11.99. Boyd earned a third-place finish in the 200-meter in 25.06, but she still was not done on the day.
Coming back strong for two more events, she earned NCAA-qualifying times for each - one in the long jump, in which she took second with a leap of 5.60 meters, and one in the 4 x 100 girls' relay.
Something has to be said for consistency. Like two of Boyd's other third-place finishes, the 4 x 100 relay squad, consisting of sophomore Jessica Bonelli, senior Erika Huggler and sophomore Carolyn Gray with Boyd, finished in third with a time of 47.73.
Third place? Check. Second? Boyd took care of that too. The writing on the wall was therefore a trifecta and Tecco made sure not to disappoint. Tecco ran a blazing fast 2.14 in the 800-meter and earned an NCAA provisional time to boot with the win.
Tecco, who admitted to being disappointed with her time the week before, no doubt put her demons to rest with her first-place finish.
"It felt good to finish in first place this weekend. I wanted to focus on running a smooth race because it was a little windy and I didn't want to waste any unneeded energy fighting the weather," Tecco said.
Tecco focused on her own pace, not trying to psych herself out with where the other runners were. Tecco also noted that having family and friends at the race to cheer her on didn't hurt either.
The men's team didn't struggle either, as freshman Rob McGowan won his own event, the 400-meter dash, in 48.99. Senior Matt Randal was busy carrying his own weight in the 1,500-meter run, finishing in third with a time of 4:01.05.
Randal wasn't done, nor were his teammates, as he took sixth in the 800-meter in 1:58.11, while freshman Matt Warren was busy putting on a show in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 57.53 that earned him second.
Coach Eric Mobley again had reason to be pleased with his team's performance and voiced that to them after the meet. He was visably excited to see as many NCAA provisional qualifying marks as he did.
With it being so early in the season, Mobley is still anxious to see how many leaps and strides his team can make before the championships.
The next chance to catch the Lions track and field team comes this Saturday at the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University.
