The Plattsburgh State track and field team competed at the SLU Open hosted by St. Lawrence University last Friday and came in first and second for the women’s and men’s team, with the points of 213.5 and 154 respectively.
The women’s team combined the total 10 first-place finishes while the men’s team topped seven events.
“We had some other people improve their seat times, personal best in order to get into the conference championship. [I’m] pretty pleased with the way things went,” head coach Nick Jones said.
Graduate student Kallie Villemaire and senior Elisabeth Plympton came in first and second for the 300-meter dash, with the time of 41.74 and 42.09 respectively. Villemaire and Plympton broke the program record of 42.29 set by Monticia Prather in 2000.
The Cardinals also won the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run, 4×200-meter relay, pole vault, long jump, shot put and weight throw.
For the men’s team, freshmen Brendyn Marrero, Cameron Aviles, Brexton Montville and Jared Davidson topped the 4×200-meter relay, combined for a time of 1:31.66, currently ranked as the second fastest time in All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference.
“We didn’t have the best hand-off during the race, which was kind of upsetting, but we know that we can only get better from that and the time is only going to go down, especially when we have bigger competition,” Montville said.
Montville hopes the team could finish first for the 4×200-meter relay, break the program record and keep getting better from that.
PSU also came in first for 200-meter dash, 300-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run, pole vault and 4×400-meter relay.
Davidson was off by 0.16 seconds to the program record for the 300-meter dash set by Chris Verkey in 2000. He was disappointed for not breaking the program record, but was happy with his progress as he dropped a second compared to his previous performance in the event.
“I was happy with my progress, but it was like ‘dang man’. I can’t really describe that feeling,” Davidson said.
The Cards will be competing at SUNYAC Championships, hosted by SUNY Brockport today.
Montville said the SLU Open boosted the team’s confidence and prepared for the upcoming championships.
“We’re all going in ready. We’re definitely all focused and we expect big things to happen. We’ve all come a long way. I know for the upperclassmen, this means a lot for them,” Davidson said. “This is a big moment. We are all going in for a fight.”
Jones said 18 athletes from the men’s team and 33 from the women’s team will be competing at the championships. He believes the team was in better spirit when the SUNYAC Championships entries were finalized.
The team had a good workout on Wednesday and was prepared for the championship. The team traveled to Brockport yesterday after their pre-meet. Jones said it will not be a one-night travel as the championship only starts at 3 p.m. today.
Jones is expecting the team to hit more personal bests and wants to see some SUNYAC champions and more athletes to be qualified for AARTFC.
Montville said one of his goals was qualifying for the SUNYAC championships and he is relieved to have achieved that goal. He said most of the goals he set were met this season and he is building it up for the outdoor season.
Davidson said drinking water is the key to his preparation for the SUNYAC Championships. He also said he tries to keep his nerve down and find some downtimes to keep himself from drifting away.
“Even though I’m a freshman, I’m not looking to be casted out. I’m trying to make it in for myself here. When people see me, that’s Jared Davidson,” Davidson said.
