The Plattsburgh State track and field team competed against some of the top athletes in the Northeast at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University.
“We have some solid performances, some lifetime best,” head coach Nick Jones said.
Jones said the team had some improvements from when they attended the John Thomas Terrier Classic hosted by Boston University last month, and he was happy with the team’s performance.
For the women’s team, senior Elisabeth Plympton posted All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) qualifying times for both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash, and came in 18th out of 60 runners (8.09) and 72nd out of 295 runners (25.62) respectively.
Plympton also met the AARTFC qualification mark for the Cardinals’ 4×400-meter relay, with a time of 59.28. The team of Plympton, graduate student Kallie Villemaire, senior Taylor Canet and sophomore Aislyn McDonough combined for a time of 4:00.88, which met the AARTFC qualification time. This is also the second fastest time in the program’s history.
Canet ran her lifetime best for the 800-meter run, clocked in at 2:21.41. Villemaire hit her indoor personal best for the 400-meter dash, with a time of 58.31, which achieved the AARTFC qualification mark.
“Everyone’s time keeps improving every week for the most part. That’s really good to see, definitely boosts our confidence knowing that you can run faster,” Villemaire said.
Senior Brianna Coon came in ninth out of 14 athletes and 22nd out of 46 athletes for weight throw (14.03 meters – 46’ 0.5”) and the shot put (12.05 meters – 39’ 6.5”) respectively.
For the men’s team, freshman Brendyn Marrero finished 67th out of 228 competitors in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.37. Other than hitting the AARTFC qualification time, he also recorded the fastest time of the season. Freshman Jared Davidson also clocked in the AARTFC qualifying time in the 200-meter dash, with the time of 22.49.
In addition to Marrero and Davidson in the 200-meter dash, Montville finished with a time of 22.91, freshman Marlon Peak Jr. notched a time of 23.02 and freshmen Cameron Aviles clocked in at 23.17.
Senior Andrew Horan hit the AARTFC qualification mark in the mile run and hit his lifetime best, covering the race with the time of 4:20.29.
“I was happy about me [hitting a personal record] but there’s a couple of guys that are a little faster. The way the race went, I’m happy about the time I ran but at the same time, it’d be more at ease if I ran faster,” Horan said.
Marrero, Aviles, freshman Brexton Montville and Davidson clocked in at 3:24.17 for the 4×400-meter relay.
Jones said the majority of the team will be attending the SLU Open hosted by St. Lawrence University. While Jones said the work is all done, this meet is still important. Jones said the team needs to be smart, recover and stay focused.
Jones said some of the Cards need to make improvements for this meet and are preparing to perform in the SUNYAC conference. He also said some of the athletes are finishing off their season this week and want to peak and do their best.
“I just want to place top three, for the 200 definitely. For the 60, I just want to qualify for the finals. If we do make it for the 4×400, I just want to do good and I want the team to do good too,” Marrero too.
Villemaire said she has been training hard this week and will take it easy for this meet and get some good training in. Her goal for this season is to perform well in the SUNYAC and AARTFC and keep running her personal best.
“This whole season is really focused around putting myself in the best position possible and performing as well as possible at SUNYAC,”Horan said.
Due to his major, this will be Horan’s last season at PSU. However, he is treating it as any other. He believes people will get too anxious when they put a time frame as it being their last season and it affects their performance.
“I’m just focusing on having fun and running fast times cause that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing,” Horan said.
For the main part, Jones said the team will focus on this week’s meet to get some work done and shift their focus to the SUNYAC. Some of the athletes are still trying to qualify for SUNYAC, some are doing off-events to prepare for SUNYAC and some are finishing their season.
For the upcoming weeks, the Cards will focus on recovery with some quality workout to sharpen up for SUNYAC. Jones said most of the athletes have been competing in the same event for the majority of the meets and this is the opportunity for them to do something different before SUNYAC.
“Remain focus, be smart and recover,” Jones advised the team.
