By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s track and field team was spread out across the country this past weekend as they competed in three different competitions — two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania — from March 27-29.
The weekend got started for the Lions on Thursday, March 27, as they flew to Austin, Texas, to compete in the 97th edition of the Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas.
The Texas Relays were filled with talent, as tons of Division I schools sent their athletes to compete. There were also professional events taking place at the relays, with many former Olympians, including American gold medalist Gabby Thomas and silver medalist Fred Kerley, also competing during the weekend.
While it was hard for the Lions to put together competitive finishes against Division I talent, the competition served as a nice opening to the team’s outdoor season, where they could judge themselves against some of the best athletes in the country.
Freshman Maxim Rychkov put together the most impressive performance in Austin, as he finished tied for 15th in the 100-meter dash timed final. His time of 10.58 seconds had him ahead of many Division I sprinters. Fifth-year Ray Schmitt was not far behind, as he came in 29th with a time of 10.67 seconds, also finishing ahead of some Division I runners.
After the Texas Relays, the Lions drove down I-35 from Austin to San Antonio to then compete in the Trinity Invitational at Trinity University.
Rychkov and Schmitt once again stole the show for the Lions, as they had a one-two finish in the 100-meter dash, which 53 sprinters competed in. Schmitt improved upon his time from the Texas Relays, running the event in 10.60 seconds.
It was Rychkov, though, who took the headlines, as he broke the school record for the 100-meter dash — a record that has stood for 49 years. The freshman’s time of 10.48 seconds in the second time he has run the event was enough to take down the long-standing record of 10.55 seconds set by Keith Taylor in 1976.
“Knowing I broke a record that’s been set for almost 50 years makes me feel amazing,” Rychkov, a mathematics major, said. “This is definitely not the best that I feel that I can do, and going throughout the season into championship meets will provide me with what I need to continue improving and possibly breaking more records.”
Rychkov capped off his weekend with a victory in the 200-meter dash, running that event in 21.40 seconds, nearly breaking another record.
Sophomore Nate Adams also performed well in San Antonio, as he finished first in the 400-meter hurdles and second in the 110-meter hurdles. He won with a time of 54.67 seconds and came in second with a time of 15.45 seconds.
Freshman Noah Traverso took home a share of a victory in the triple jump, as his 13.36-meter jump was enough to tie the leader and get them both in first place.
For the women, seniors Jessica Reilly and Kerri McCarthy continued their dominance from the indoor season as they took the top two spots in the hammer throw. Reilly won the event with a 51.28-meter throw on her first attempt, and McCarthy was right behind her with a 47.96-meter throw in her final attempt.
Senior Lily Lorio won the javelin, as her third throw reached the 33.58-meter mark.
The quartet of sophomore Samantha Magin, senior Olivia Class, freshman Brenna Omert and senior Erin Hanlon came in second in the 4x400-meter relay. They just got under the four-minute mark as a group, finishing in 3:59.95.
Many of the track and field athletes who did not make the trip to Texas instead competed at the Danny Curran Invitational at Widener in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Junior Brandon Chen got off to a great start in his outdoor season, as he came in second place in the 5,000-meter race. The long-distance runner finished the event in 14:33.15, just three seconds behind the race winner from Rowan.
Senior Molly Bossdorf put together an impressive performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as she finished in fifth with a time of 11:46.33. She finished just five-tenths of a second ahead of the sixth-place finisher.
The Lions will take next weekend off before they turn around and host the TCNJ Invite and Multi from April 10-12.
