Written by: Keri Edwards

All the hard work in the weight room, the time and effort put in at practice and his commitment to his team will finally come to pass. First- year Ean Mann realizes that he is only 60 meters away, which is a little longer than half a football field, from the finish line. All he must do is get there first, and he wins. He must get there the fastest, and he breaks the school record… again.

Mann, a five-foot-eleven native of Hancock, Maryland and a civil engineering major with an architectural studies minor, has just begun his track and field career at Elizabethtown College.

As a sprinter, Mann not only created a new personal record for the 60-meter dash, but he also broke Etown’s record for the 60-meter dash three times. For now, the record is seven seconds flat. Each new personal record Ean runs will now be a new record for the College.

However, Mann just sees this as “a new PR [personal record] each time so when [his] career ends, [he] will have an official record.”

Mann began running track because he knew he was “kind of fast and wanted to see how he compared to other people.”

He played football and needed something else to do during the offseason. He accredits his parents with being his biggest supporters.

“My parents are always there at every meet cheering me on,” Mann said.

His biggest role model is his sister, a senior at Shenandoah University who also does track. He noticed her commitment to track, and Ean notes observing her dedication has made him the same way.

Now that he is in college, Mann took some time to reminisce about his time in high school and compared high school track to college track. The biggest difference between the two is the “level of intensity and the pace is faster,” according to Mann.

While in high school, Mann was a part of breaking seven different team records, and four individual records.

Here at Etown, his teammates have been huge supporters of helping him grow as a person and a runner.

“My teammates are very supportive, and they are always there wishing me good luck,” Mann said.

Not only have his teammates been very supportive, but his peers have, as well. Mann commented that he has noticed people hearing about his accomplishments and coming up to congratulate him and wish him good luck at his meets.

First-year Matthew Strubinger is not only a teammate of Ean’s but also his roommate.

“Since I live with Ean, I study him, so I know what it is like to be a champion,” Strubinger said.

He also commented that “it all makes sense;” he knows how Mann eats, sleeps and carries out his daily life.

“It just makes sense why he does so well in track,” Strubinger said.

He could not explain what he meant by this, but that simply observing Mann every day explains why he is the athlete and person that he is. Being on a team with Mann is a “triple bonus” to Strubinger because Mann is one of his best friends, his roommate and his teammate.

A good friend and teammate of Mann is first-year Patrick Blair.

“Ean’s dedication…inspires him to be that type of runner, be that type of athlete day in and day out,” Blair said.

As an athlete, Blair’s favorite thing about Mann is his constant motivation and support. Aside from being an athlete and on a team with Ean, Blair loves Mann’s “southern accent.” Blair also likes that Mann is “always on me about homework and pushing me to get it done. Ean is a great guy.”

First-year Augustine “A.J.” Calabrese, another friend and teammate, likes spending time with Mann out on the track, since the two do not have classes together. Calabrese concurs that Mann is supportive and a great guy.

Mann did not come into the season looking to break a school record; he simply wanted to get close. He did not think he would break it as early as he did.

He looked at it as a guide to see what times he wanted to run, but he never had any intentions of seriously setting a record for the 60-meter dash.

Mann considers Zion Howard, a first-year at Moravian College, to be a good competitor for the Landmark Conference. The two have had their share of accomplishments and achievements within their respective programs.

They have only run against each other during their Landmark Conference meet, with Mann beating Howard. However, Howard’s presence in a meet pushes Mann to do his absolute best.

“We push each other to make ourselves better athletes,” Mann said.