The St. Joe’s men and women’s track team had a successful meet at the Columbia Challenge Jan. 28. The men’s team had five podium finishes, with many athletes breaking their personal records, while the women’s team also had five of their runners breaking their personal records.
The team’s early success does not mean they have gotten complacent. Head Coach Mike Glavin has made sure the team still has their eyes on the prize.
“Our biggest challenge is going to be the Atlantic 10 (A-10),” Glavin said. “We try to grow from where we were at the beginning of all this and see if we can improve on last year’s Atlantic finishes as a team, last year’s Atlantic 10 scoring, and how many people make Atlantic and All-Atlantic and all that. That’s always the next thing.”
Matt Coffey, a fifth-year distance runner on the men’s team, beat his personal record with a sixth place finish in the 3000 meter with a time of 8:12:50. He spoke to the team’s approach and confidence going into the meet.
“I think we’re all very relaxed going into the meet,’ Coffey said, “and I’m not sure exactly why that was, but I think it helped us to perform even better, just because we weren’t too nervous about any particular factor going into the race day.”
Coffey described the current state of the team and what helped them perform better.
“I think the team is in a great position, honestly. Across all the event groups, we push each other to work even harder at our practice,” Coffey said. “It’s staying at a very high level, basically, every day of the week, no matter if it’s an easy practice or a very difficult workout. So, I think as the season goes on, indoor to outdoor track, I think the level is just going to continue to rise. Across the team, men’s and women’s, we’re kind of raising the bar of what is expected of us.”
First-year Briyel Brown for the women’s team had the fastest time for the Hawks in the 60 meter White Division with a time of 7.91 seconds.
“I’m just going to practice every day wanting to work hard. Even when going to meets, I have pretty much a dog mentality. Like I want to go after everybody. Whoever’s in my heat [is] pushing me to get faster,” Brown said.
Teamwork and camaraderie are essential components for both teams. Trusting your teammates takes precedence over trusting yourself, Coffey said.
“I think I trust my team probably even more than I trust myself sometimes, just because they’re always there to kind of push me in workouts,” Coffey said. “And even the rest of the team, we’re always supporting each other, kind of just hyping each other up.”
With a team-first attitude, the Hawks look to continue their success, but work ethic is also essential, Glavin said.
“The athletes live for, you know, going out on Tuesdays, whether it’s a sprint workout, or it’s to perfect jump approach on the long jump or a distance runner who is running around forever. They live for hammering this stuff out,” Glavin said.
