The Plattsburgh State track and field team participated in the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship hosted by Ithaca College last Friday and Saturday.
Head coach Nick Jones was upbeat about his team’s performance in the championships last week.
“It went very well. We have a lot of really good performances,” Jones said.
Jones also mentioned that a lot of the performances were improvements compared to last week’s SUNYAC championship. The women’s team finished fifth overall and scored more points than they did last year.
Junior Marissa Jones came in second place in the 400-meter for the Cardinals with a time of 58.20. Freshman Victoria Whimple continued her impressive first year of college track and field by coming in first place in the triple jump a the mark of 12.03 meters.
Standout performances were Tori Whimple in the triple jump,” Nick Jones said. “She won the women’s triple jump and that’s the third best mark in the country right now.”
Junior Elisabeth Plympton came in second for the 60-meter with the time of 7.88, and fourth in the 200-meter.
The team of Plympton, Jones, sophomore Janyll Barber and Whimple came in third place for the 4×200 meters, with the time of 1:45.17.
Jones and Whimple will be competing in the 400-meter and triple jump for the NCAA championships in Boston this Friday and Saturday.
Despite a strong season, Plympton did not qualify for the NCAA championships.
“The work is done,” Nick Jones said. “They are just kind of touching something up. They are resting up.”
PSUC left for Boston to prepare for the championship last Wednesday.
Athletes who finished at the regional championships and did not qualify for the NCAAs will be taking some time off now to rest now that the indoor season is over. Now, athletes are shifting gears to prepare for the upcoming outdoor season in the coming weeks.
Athletes will have an easier workload coming fresh off the winter season during training to start but will ramp up as the outdoor season gets closer and closer.
“We focus a lot of speed and power during the season,” Nick Jones said. “The work is more general at this point in time.”
The training now will focus more on endurance according to Nick Jones. The team will take a break from official training during spring break to recharge themselves. The first meet for the spring season is scheduled to be on March 30.
Nick Jones is hoping that the weather will get warmer soon as the winter weather lingers on for the team to prepare in a better environment for the spring season.
“We will still be training inside for outdoor track until the weather gets warm enough,” Nick Jones said. “I think everybody is anxious to get outside and get on the track and have softer turns.”
Nick Jones is hoping athletes will continue on their success and do well in the SUNYAC championships for the spring season and have more athletes qualify for the regional championships.
