Hawks deliver in the A-10 indoor track championships

Valiant team-wide efforts and individual victories characterized the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships for both St. Joe’s men’s and women’s teams this past weekend in Kingston, Rhode Island.

The men’s team finished sixth in a field of ten teams, allotting 55 total points. Meanwhile, the women finished ninth in a field of 13 teams, totaling 45 team points. Both teams scored in all three team relay events. In seven individual events, eight men scored for St. Joe’s. For the women, eight individuals scored in eight events.

Men’s Head Coach Mike Glavin recognized his team’s solid performance as well as the compact field of competition.

“There was a clump of schools in the four, five, six, seven, eight block battling each other,” Glavin said. “I was happy with where my team finished; we didn’t leave many points on the table. Overall, I felt very good about our performance.”

The Hawks finished only three points out of fourth place, with seven points separating the fourth through eighth place finishers.

Women’s Head Coach Melody O’Reilly saw a team that passionately competed in a weekend that may not have gone exactly as planned.

“I think overall, the team just competed very well,” O’Reilly said. “They did fight to the end in every race, so I’m proud of them. I learned that we’ve got some competitors on this team. We have some fierce women and I’m proud of them.”

The standout performance of the weekend for the women’s squad was senior Claudine Andre. She took home the gold medal in the high jump while simultaneously etching her name in the record books with a St. Joe’s program record of  5’ 9 1/4”.

Andre was in a state of euphoria following the attainment of her record height.

“I’m really excited, I didn’t think it would feel this way honestly,” Andre said. “I’ve been wanting it for a long time. It was indescribable, when it happened I just couldn’t believe it.”

The women’s team partnered Andre’s record setting jump with junior sprinter Nathaniela Bourdeau’s two medals in what O’Reilly called “two super stellar performances.” Bourdeau ran a time of 24.75 to secure silver in the 200m and a 7.63 60m time was good for bronze, just .05 seconds off from the program record in the event.

For the men, senior Steve Thompson had an impressive day, finishing with an individual bronze medal in the 800m and a silver medal in the 4×800 relay. This marks the third year in a row the senior has medaled in the 800m at the Atlantic 10 Championship.

“Last year I won,” Thompson said. “I came in with a lot of confidence this year. Coming into the race, I wanted to be as competitive as possible. In the end, third place is definitely a position I should be satisfied with.”

Sophomore Zach Michon also boasted a performance that ultimately went a long way in boosting the team’s overall score. Running a mile time of 4:09.84, he was less than a second off from the leader and finished fifth. He matched that with a fifth place performance in the 3000m, adding pivotal points to his team’s score in both events.

“It wasn’t about time, it was about placement and points,” Michon said. “I was just trying to score as many points as possible for the team.”

One theme that emanated from the men and women was the importance of the team, as they deflected their individual accolades as purely part of their team’s effort.

“I just wanted to go out there and have fun,” said senior Dave Henderson, who finished fourth in the 400m. “I was really focused on going and doing what I can do to help the team.”

Bourdeau emphasizes the fact that track is a team sport, despite the fact that it appears to be about individuals.

“That’s honestly the best part,” Bourdeau said. “I work for my team and they definitely motivate me to do better, and I owe it to them for this achievement.”

The men’s track and field team will have one more chance to send athletes to the IC4A championships, and the women’s squad will do the same for the ECAC championships. Hawks looking to get to these meets will attend the Saturday Night Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 24.