Aiden Masten hits the sand following his jump attempt.
By Rebekah Riley
Plattsburgh Cardinals indoor track and field is back in action. The track and field team just had its first meet of the season hosted by St. Lawrence Dec. 3. The men’s team placed third and the women’s team placed fifth.
Head Coach Andrew Krug said he is looking to see some growth from the team and shared that the team lost, but also gained, a strong class. Last year, the track and field team had five seniors and two fifth-year athletes. This year, it has 19 first-year athletes.
The team is already showing amazing stats after just starting the season. Krug mentioned the men’s jumping team and how they have already had players place first through fifth in the long jump, as well as second and third in the triple jump.
“I think our results showed that we had some positive additions, especially in the jumps group. Our men went one through five in the long jump, and we went to three in the triple jump where we only had a couple of people in those groups and, not to take away from the previous season, but we definitely added strength to those groups,” Krug said.
In the men’s long jump, Isaiah Ritter placed first with a distance of 6.51 meters, junior Aiden Masten placed second with a distance of 6.19 meters, first-year Ethan Mulholland placed third with a distance of 6.15 meters, first-year Tyler Baker placed fourth with a distance of 6.13 meters and first-year Sampson Lin placed fifth with a distance of 6.12 meters.
In the men’s triple jump, Ritter placed second with a distance of 12.67 meters, and first-year De’Andre Watson placed third with a distance of 12.24 meters.
Senior Spencer Trudo, a thrower, said his favorite event to compete in as a thrower is hammer and weight throw. In the men’s weight throw, Trudo placed 10th with a throw distance of 11.21 meters. Trudo placed 17th in shot put with a throw distance of 9.96 meters.
“I had to learn [hammer] when I started college, because I’m from around here, and we couldn’t do javelin and everything like that. So I had to learn hammer and weight, which took a long time but I find it really enjoyable,” Trudo said.
Trudo is off to a good start for the throwing team. He made it to the SUNYAC Championships last year and he hopes to make it there again this year.
Assistant Coach Jordyn Naylon was proud that three runners placed top five in the men’s 3,000 meter run: sophomore Erik Kucera placed first with a time of 8:54.79, first-year Richard Graham placed second with a time of 8:55.13 and junior Michael Brockway placed fifth with a time of 9:19.12.
“Richard and Kucera went and they raced off each other and they accidentally ran a lap more. So that was pretty funny. But it was definitely really exciting to have them both working up there,” Naylon said.
In the women’s one mile run, Plattsburgh had runners who placed second, third, fourth and fifth. Junior Sarah Smith placed second with a time of 5:45.92, first-year Lillian Moran placed third with a time of 5:56.97, senior Natalia Castro placed fourth with a time of 6:06.93 and sophomore Jaylee Southwell placed fifth with a time of 6:12.87.
Sophomore Marissa Colvin is hoping to make her stride on the track and field team in the distance category. Colvin was out last season with an injury and this year, she wants to get some new personal records.
“It definitely discouraged me, I was excited to come into college and run. It took time, but I got through it. For PRs, the 5k is 19:38 that I ran at outdoor last year. I don’t have a mile time yet. I’m hoping to break 19 for the 5k and 5:30 for the mile.”
With the season just starting and finals coming in just a couple days, the coaches do everything they can to relieve the stress or anxiety the athletes may feel.
“During finals week, I don’t have scheduled practice and most of the time, that’s their week completely off. So they have no other thing to do other than study, hang out, sleep, that sort of thing. Some of them even still run on their own because they just do what they like doing and it keeps them relaxed a little bit or at least some time out of their dorm,” Naylon said.
The track and field team is in Utica, New York at the Utica Holiday Classic Friday, Dec. 8 and Saturday, Dec. 9. The track and field team, due to the winter break, will not be competing in any meets until Jan. 20, 2024 where it will pick back up at the Middlebury Winter Classic, in Middlebury, Vermont.
