Track and field shines at Eastern Conference Championships
The St. Joe’s men’s and women’s track and field squads capped off their indoor seasons at the IC4A and Eastern Conference Athletic Conference [ECAC] championships held on March 2-4 at Boston University’s Track and Tennis Center.
Senior Claudine Andre nabbed the title for the high jump, marking only the fifth ECAC title win for any indoor track and field event for St. Joe’s with a jump at 5’ 8 3/4”.
“I was satisfied with my win at A-10s [Atlantic 10 Championships], so I wasn’t expecting much,” Andre said.
The senior also said she wants to pick up where she left off once her outdoor season begins, showing no signs of slowing down.
Elsewhere, the distance medley relay foursome comprising of junior Lucy Harmon, sophomore Emily Bracken, junior Lindsey Oremus and sophomore Caroline Duffy clocked in a time of 11:47.43, earning them a seventh place finish in a field of twenty-three teams.
Senior Cassidy Weimer placed ninth in the mile finals. Weimer had previously ran the fastest mile for any Hawk runner in over a decade in the preliminaries, putting in a time of 4:52.27.
For the women’s 4x400m relay, sophomore Karley Hess, junior Kelly Liebl, senior Steph Toland and Duffy ran a time of 3:49.00, good for an eighth place finish.
Hess filled in for junior Nathaniela Bourdeau, who previously ran with Liebl, Toland and Duffy in the preliminaries for the 4×400. Bourdeau was out for the finals due to an injury. She had also qualified for the 200m final, as well as just falling short of qualifying for the 60m semi-finals.
On the men’s side, the trio of senior Steve Thompson, senior Kenny Evely and sophomore Zach Michon shined brightly, as all three earned IC4A All-East Honors for their performances at the championship.
Thompson had a sixth place finish in the 800m final with a time of 1:52.64. It was Thompson’s first IC4A All-East honors for an individual event, and it netted the Hawks three points on the day.
Evely had an eighth place finish in the 500m finals, clocking in at 1:04.07. Evely also had a collegiate best time of 1:03.94, earned during the preliminaries.
“It was awesome,” Evely said of his first-time IC4A All-East honors. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Evely was calm during such a high pressure event.
“I just tried to treat it like every other race,” Evely said. “I was a little more nervous before it, but I knew with my training and fitness level where it is right now, [I would] be able to do some damage.”
In the spring for outdoor track season, Evely will tackle a new challenge – the 400m hurdles.
“This is the fastest I’ve been my entire career, so I should just carry the momentum,” Evely said.
Michon had an eighth place finish in the mile final with a time of 4:08.32. Michon had a time of 4:07.78 in the preliminaries, which was his collegiate best.
The 4x800m relay group of senior Dan Ferraiolo, senior Dave Garton, junior Dylan Eddinger and junior Rory Houston secured All-East honors for their efforts. The squad crossed at 7:31.63, good for a fifth place finish.
It was the fastest relay time of the season and fell short of the school’s record for fastest relay time. The group improved on their preliminary time of 7:36.57.
Senior Collin Crilly had a tenth place finish in the mile, crossing at 4:09.35, while freshman Stephen McClellan placed ninth in the 500m finals at 1:04.78.
As for the total standings, the women finished the championships with 13 points, earning them a 23rd place finish in a field of 44 teams.
The men earned nine points, resulting in a tie for 20th place out of thirty-six scoring teams.
With the indoor season behind them, both squads will have time to recuperate. The outdoor track and field season kicks off for the crimson and grey on March 24 at the Monmouth Season Opener, held in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
