By Nick Rosa
Earlier this year, Blue Devil high jumper Matt Berube set the school record in the heptathlon with 4,514 points.
This exhausting event consists of a 60 meter dash, long jump, high jump, shot put, 60 meter high hurdles, pole vault, and a grueling 1,000 meter run, which is any jumpers or sprinters worst nightmare.
Naturally a high jumper, Berube began his track career at Southington high school. While not doing track indoor his freshman year in high school, he began his journey that outdoor season, continuing with track his entire high school career.
“I tried sprinting,” Berube said with a laugh, “But I was like ‘screw this’ and went and tried high jump and dropped sprinting completely,” he added.
His coach then went on to tell him to continue with high jumping and to try other events like triple jump, long jump, and pole vault.
His sophomore year is when the field events starting becoming his specialty by doing high, triple, long and pole. Going into his junior and senior years he stuck with high, triple, and long.
His senior year, Berube said he did a few track events like the 4-by-200 but only when the team needed him to. He also dabbled in the 55 hurdles and the 110 high hurdles.
Besides setting records at CCSU he also owns the Southington indoor high jump, triple jump, and long jump records and holds the outdoor records for the high jump, triple jump, and the decathlon.
Berube was the captain of his indoor and outdoor track teams his final year. His best jump in college so far is 6 feet, 8.25 inches, .25 inches better than his high school record of 6 feet, 8 inches. His heptathlon record is now third overall in the North East Conference.
His parents were also behind him and his field career. “My dad did track so he always wanted me to do that but he sprinted and was happy for me doing whatever,” Berube said.
His mother helped him put resumes together for colleges and recruitments from other schools including CCSU.
Berube’s recruitment began late indoor season his senior year when Coach Eric Blake noticed the young high jumper’s talents. Blake went to watch him at the end of the indoor season and the Class LL championship meet at the end of outdoor his senior year. Coming into CCSU he was awarded with an athletic scholarship.
CCSU was not his first choice in schools, University of Hartford and Southern were his first choices. Southern wanted him to go there but they didn’t have the major he wanted at the time which was architecture, and that’s when CCSU came into the picture. Berube doesn’t major in architecture here but now studies technology education.
The only injury in high school that kept Berube from performing at his best was at a meet while jumping his knee hit his tooth, chipped it, and needed stitches for his knee. Since then, besides some minor shin splints, he has been injury free.
“This year is by far my healthiest year, which makes no sense because I’m doing a hell of a lot more,” he added.
With a new training regimen for the many events he has to do for the heptathlon he has a new way at looking at the sport instead of sticking to three events. With finally having consistent coaching it is easier to focus on his events.
Berube had a different track coach every year in high school and the first couple years in college.
“It definitely didn’t help me but it helped me realize many different ways coaches can approach things, now I know what I need in coach,” Berube said. The Coach he has now is his seventh overall.
What struck me the most during this interview with Berube was when he said, “If everyone clicks this weekend we have the best chance of doing the best we’ve done so far in indoor.”
Berube went in with a positive attitude and came out with a positive result. This weekend at NECs, he helped his team in points by finishing third in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump.
Berube is expecting another top three finish in outdoor. “I want a ring bad,” he said. After already receiving one this past weekend, it looks like another one is possible for Berube in outdoor where the Blue Devils finished third last year.
Berube looks to run the heptathlon in the upcoming weeks at New England’s and hopefully into IC4A’s. He also will begin training for the decathlon, which is 10 events instead of seven, come this outdoor season. He will look to break his own heptathlon record and look to break the decathlon record during the outdoor season.
While winning a ring earlier than he thought, and heading into more of the championship season and the beginning of outdoor, Berube will look to improve on his record setting heptathlon and on his personal bests in the jumps.