The Elizabethtown College men and women’s track and field teams kicked off 2013 at the Collegeville Classic at Ursinus College. Although the teams finished fifth and sixth out of 16 teams respectively, the Blue Jays had some standout performances a month and a half after their previous meet.
Sophomore Matt Rever finished first in the mile with a time of 4:25.19 and first-year Zach Trama won in the 3000 meters with a time of 9:10.93. Senior Aaron Focht finished third in the 800 meters with a time of 2:00.01. In the field events, junior Kevin Brady finished fifth in the pole vault with a time of 4.25 meters.
On the women’s side, senior captain Jenna Niedermayer had a first place finish in the women’s triple jump with a jump of 11.28 meters which was close to her school record of 11.30 meters. In the mile, junior Traci Tempone finished third and sophomore Amelia Tearnan finished in sixth.
Over the weekend at the Annual Bison Open at Bucknell University, the teams went up against Division I and II competition, but the Blue Jays were not intimidated and came out with some strong performances. “We stressed to not be intimated by bigger schools and to compete with the best. It does not matter what the name on the school of the jersey is, it really pushes you to do better and for bigger schools to look at us and that we are a good program,” junior captain Lucas Dayhoff said.
Niedermayer shared the same sentiment as Dayhoff when competing against bigger schools. “I always look forward to the Bucknell meet because it is against schools you don’t ever see. You get excited, however, it’s all about not being nervous and how you push yourself,” Niedermayer said.
Dayhoff, owner of the second best shot put throw in the Etown’s history, took over the top spot when he threw for 14.31 meters. However, he wasn’t done yet. On day two of the event, he beat his own school record by three feet, which now stands at 15.70 meters. Dayhoff is delighted to have his name atop the record books for his magnificent throw. “It is a pretty awesome feeling to have an indoor and outdoor record, it shows the work I have put in the last few years,” Dayhoff said. He finished ninth out of 25 competitors in the event.
In the men’s distance medley, the team of Rever, Focht, senior Luke Rotenberger, and first-year Sam Brooks finished fourth out of 12 teams with a time of 10:13.58. First-year Rachel Carr had an outstanding meet, as she took the top spot in the women’s 500 meters with a time of 1:21.07, which also makes her the school’s record holder in the event.
Niedermayer bettered her school record and finished in third in the triple jump with a time of 11.31 meters. Niedermayer is excited to improve upon her personal best and feels that she can surpass that again this season. “It feels pretty good, although I really I want to compete with my outdoor personal best,” Niedermayer said.
As a team goal, Niedermayer feels that this team is capable of capturing the conference crown, but the team has some work to do in order to made it happen this season.“I’m happy with what we have now as a team, but we can improve. Everyone has to push themselves the next four weeks. It’s going to take a huge effort from everyone to win the MAC this year. We don’t have the depth as in previous seasons, but we still look to compete in every meet,” Niedermayer said.