Julia Nagel/Sun Photography Editor

Men's and Women's Track and Field are wrapping up their indoor seasons.

March 8, 2022

Track and Field Transitions to Outdoor Season

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Two weeks ago, the track and field team competed at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships as the final team meet of the indoor season. The Red performed well, placing third and fourth place on the men’s and women’s sides, respectively. 

Out of eight Ivy League teams competing at the meet, the placings were impressive –– but not satisfying enough. The Red hopes to build on its indoor season’s success and explode into outdoor with enough momentum to build a Heptagonal-winning team.

The women’s team impressed, with four athletes walking away as winners of their respective events. Senior Beatrice Juskeviciute won the pentathlon, senior Leone Farquharson won the long jump, junior Victoria Atkinson won the pole vault and senior Brooke Overholt won the 400 meter dash. Juskeviciute and Farquharson have also qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, and will compete there on March 11.

The women’s team scored 78 points, good for fourth place at the meet.

The men’s team had multiple high placements as well. Junior Christian Martin took second in the 60 meter hurdles, senior Ian Frost took third in the weight throw, junior Smith Charles took fourth in the long jump, sophomore Shane Racey took third in the pole vault and sophomore Tomas Kersulis took second in the 400 meter dash.

The men’s team scored a total of 82 points, good for third place.

“It was our best finish in a few years now,” said Men’s Head Coach Adrian Durant. “But [for] outdoor, we’re still aiming for the top.”

After taking a rest week following HEPS, the majority of both teams return to practice this week, and they are ramping up preparation for the outdoor competition. 

“We basically have a month of training before we compete outdoors,” said Women’s Head Coach Mike Henderson.

The Red has an opportunity to shake off any rust and get a taste for outdoor competition at the small Penn Challenge meet in mid-March, but the main outdoor competitions begin during Cornell’s spring break in early April.

Until that point, the team plans to practice and prepare for an exciting outdoor season, one that they hope will culminate in an improvement in HEPS placing at the end of the season.

“They all competed hard and had great energy indoors. We just want to build on that for the outdoor season,” Henderson concluded.