It was a long bus trip for the men’s and women’s track teams last weekend. But a message from a coach told them to resist horseplay and stay focused on their task ahead. They took the message seriously and it showed. Several Owls notched personal bests on a weekend in which the squads divided, sending members to both the Terrier Classic at Boston University and the Bucknell Open in Lewisberg, Pa.
“It was a long bus ride,” sophomore Amanda Cole said. “We just tried to stay focused.
We knew we had some work to do. Just go out and do it.”
Cole led the women’s team by shattering her school record in weight throw at the Terrier Classic. With a throw of 50-1 ¾, Cole broke her own record by nearly four feet.
“Every time I throw I think about doing better doing better each time,” Cole said. “It shows that I work hard in practice. There’s no need to go to practice if you’re not going to improve.”
She missed qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship meet by two feet. “I still have some more work to do,” said Cole, who also finished 13th in the shot put with a heave of 35-8.Freshman Melissa Gale placed seventh in the pole vault with a score of 10-6 ¾. The Owls success did not stop in Boston.
At Bucknell, sophomore Devon DuPont placed fifth in the pentathlon with 3281 points. Junior Nicole McKenzie finished 3rd in the 800m with a time of 2:24.83. Junior Shanece Pratt earned ninth in the 200m with a 26.77 and 11th in the 60m with an 8.06. This weekend, three sophomores and one freshman posted season-best scores.
“Our coach asks our underclassmen to do a lot,” Cole said. “In years to come, we’re going to keep getting better at what we do.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Jason Sullivan
became the first Owl this season to meet Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes in America standards. Sullivan finished 10th in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.44.
“I did not expect to qualify at all,” Sullivan said.
Along with Sullivan, the men’s team recorded four personal-bests. Sophomore Joshua Louis posted a season-high of 6-8 in the high jump, good for second place. Louis also finished 14th in the 55m hurdles with a time of 7.91.
Junior Marcos Edghill finished 15th in the 55m dash with a season-best 6.60. He also ran a 7.77 to place 13th in the 55m hurdles. Freshman Rob McGriff finished 23rd in the 200m with a season-best 22.44.
“Right now, most of the team is made up of underclassmen,” Sullivan said. “It shows in the next three years that we are going to be a strong team. It shows a good future for us.”
Pete Dorchak can be reached at
pdorchak@temple.edu.
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