Men’s indoor track returns to action
After being snowed in two weekends, the men’s indoor track and field team took to the track for the second time this semester for the Jim Wuske Invitational in Alliance, Ohio at the University of Mount Union.
“It was good to get back on the track,” said head coach Jason Falvo. “Our team was very eager to compete.”
The top performance came from sophomore Zakk DeCarlo. He placed ninth out of a 28-man field in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.75 seconds.
“It was a great day with a lot of great competition so I was very happy with where I placed,” said DeCarlo. “Racing against some of the best sprinters showed me where my teammates and I stand and what things we need to work on to get better.”
DeCarlo’s performance garnered him praise from his head coach.
“[DeCarlo] is an excellent runner; he really came into his own at the end of last year and is having a very productive indoor season so far,” said Falvo. “We have high expectations for him this year.”
In the field events, senior Travis Schubert placed ninth out of a 25-man shot put field with a top throw of 12.9 meters.
“Having Schubert back in our program is a great thing,” said Falvo. “He brings a lot of energy and hard work to our throwing program; he has a ton of untapped potential.”
Freshman Dave Martin set a new program record for the weight throw toss of 8.42 meters.
“This is the second meet ever that we have competed in weight toss,” said Falvo. “So we are excited to see our progress, but we have a long way to go.”
DeCarlo believes the team gained a lot of experience and technical practice from this meet.
“We were coming off two hard work weeks and we haven’t had a meet in a while,” said DeCarlo. “Just getting out there again and working hard is going to get us into a good rhythm and prepare us for the indoor Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship meet.”
He also sees his team improving before the championship meet.
“We have a lot of talent in every event and both the men’s and women’s teams have a great chance at winning the PAC championship,” said DeCarlo.
Falvo believes the main goal of the season is to take the next step in building a championship-caliber program.
“We feel like we let a championship slip through our fingers last year and we don’t want that to happen again,” said Falvo.
The Jacket men’s track and field team will be back in action Friday Feb. 21 at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. The start time is still to be determined.