by Tyler Roaix
Coming off of a strong showing at the Joe Donahue Invitational in Boston last weekend, the Central Connecticut State University track and field teams were back in “Beantown” for yet another meet.
The John Thomas Terrier Classic, consisting of about 1,500 athletes from 80 different schools, was just the challenge the Blue Devils needed, heading into regional and conference championships.
The women opened up the weekend on Friday with another solid showing.
Olivia Mondo and Morgan Ricci each set new personal records in the mile, finishing with times of 5:27.64 and 5:42.36, respectively.
Junior Madeline Mondo also set a personal best in the 3,000-meter run, finishing in 10:10.28.
Megan Brawner and Dawn Hubbell each took home 27th place finishes in the 1,000-meter run and 5,000-meter runs, respectively.
The team of McKenna Kilian, Angelia Rafter, Brawner and Hailey Rospierski finished the 4×400 meter relay in 4:12.64, good for 20th in a deep field.
Killian also rounded out a great day with a 13th place finish in the long jump, out of 44 competitors. She also had a 14th place finish in the high jump.
Head coach Eric Blake was pleased by Kilian’s performance, especially in the long jump, in which she set a new personal best. Blake is looking forward to seeing how Kilian carries the momentum over into the New England Championships next weekend.
The men carried the momentum into Saturday with what may be their best showing of the year as a team; a whopping nine personal records were set by the men Saturday.
Nana Kissi, Sam Borecki and Amaziah Gadson led the way for the Blue Devils in the field events. Kissi placed 13th in the shot put, throwing for a new personal best of 13.95 meters. Borecki continued his strong season in the pole vault, posting a 4.8-meter jump, good for fifth place. Gadson proved to be one of the best high-jumpers in the building, coming in fourth overall with a 1.95-meter jump.
The Blue Devils also had a strong showing on the track. The 4×400 meter relay ‘A’ team of Jack St. Clair, Tyler Latham, Adonys Langual and Matt Baum ran the event in 3:24.10, good for 14th.
Senior Austin Trainor was good for a top-20 finish in the mile, running it in 4:05.72. Junior Alex Norstrom finished sixth in the 5k with a time of 14:30.71. Baum also ran a new best in the 500-meter with a time of 1:07.38.
Blake highlighted Trainor’s progression after the meet.
“The most improved award goes to Austin Trainor. In three weeks, Austin went from running in the 4:20s to running a 4:05 mile. He came into the season very strong, but just not fast. Now, the speed’s coming.”
Central will be back in action Friday, Feb. 2 to take place in the New England Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. There are just two weeks left until the NEC Championships on Feb. 16 and 17.