USU picks up where it left off in 2011
The Aggie track and field teams started the 2012 season right where they left off in 2011.
Saturday, the men’s and women’s track and field teams opened their seasons with a bang — literally.
Aggies began their races to the loud clap of the starting gun and some competitors finished with marks as good as last year’s, in a successful trip to Pocatello for the Idaho State Snake River Open.
“I was pretty pleased that I was able to go out on the first meet and get around the same marks as I did at the end of last season,” said Chari Hawkins, a sophomore who competed in multiple events. “The first meet is just kind of like that prep meet to see where you are, and it is encouraging when you are able to pick up right where you left off.”
This type of performance is exactly what the coaches like to see at the beginning of the season, according to assistant coach Matt Ingebritsen, who said that if this meet would be any indicator of how the team will perform the rest of the season, the Aggies can expect to do well.
“This is one of the strongest teams we’ve ever had,” Ingebritsen said. “The women’s team is outstanding. They have a definite shot at winning the WAC, especially considering how close they came last year. The men are outstanding, too. There’s a good chance of winning championships on both sides.”
The Aggies won seven field events and one running event. Hawkins claimed the top spot in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.4 seconds and took first place in the long jump with a mark of 5.67 meters.
Other event winners included junior Bri Campbell with a win in the high jump, sophomore Keeley Eldridge in the weight throw and senior Sonia Grabowska in the pole vault.
The Aggie women also swept the top three spots in the shot put with senior Spela Hus taking first place, Melanie Heslop taking second and Eldridge taking third.
Eldridge, a sophomore walk-on, is one of the athletes Ingebritsen said really stepped up at the meet.
“She came on to the team and has worked really hard,” he said. “And it has paid off — she ended up winning the event.”
On the men’s side, Ingebritsen said sophomore Bryce Hall was the meet’s best overall performer. Hall returned from an LDS mission in August 2011, and on his first attempt of the season, beat his personal record in the weight throw by an entire foot, with a distance of 17.84 meters.
Junior Joe Canavan took first place in the shot put with a throw of 16.49 meters.
Freshman Nic Bownes took second place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.91 seconds, followed closely by sophomore Silas Pimentel with 6.94 seconds. Sophomore A.J. Boully took second place in the 200-meter dash, and senior Damian Szade finished second in the long jump.
Hawkins said that seeing her teammates improve individually helps the team members grow closer together as a whole.
“In track and field, you think camaraderie isn’t necessarily super important,” she said. “But at a college level it really is. Growing closer together as a team helps us all compete better.”
From Feb. 10-12, the team will head to Albuquerque, N. M., for the New Mexico Invitational.
“We have a pretty solid team and that’s why I think we have a good chance of winning some championships. It’s pretty balanced,” Ingebritsen said. “The men want a back-to-back triple crown, and the women’s biggest goal is to win. They came so close last year and most of those girls are still on the team, and they’re hungry for it.”
– ali.davis@aggiemail.usu.edu