USU records fall left, right, up and down during indoor track season
Records were made to be broken. The Utah State track and field team has taken that idea to heart this year, shattering several of the school’s top marks during the indoor track season.
Most notable are the performances of men’s high jumper Clint Silcock and women’s pole vaulter Sonia Grabowksa. Grabowska owns both indoor and outdoor records at USU, while Silcock holds the indoor record, but is about six inches away from former Aggie Dave Hoffman’s outdoor mark of 2.30 meters, set in 2001.
Silcock said breaking the record would be a great honor to achieve, and he plans to work toward the honor this weekend at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
“I’ve got the indoor record (2.24 meters), so I’ve also got the goal for the outdoor record which is higher, 7-foot-6,” said the senior majoring in exercise science. “That’s my plans right now; that’s what I’m shooting for.”
Poland native Grabowska also said having the records and seeing her name at the top of the list in media guides is an honor.
“It was an honor to have it too,” said the member of the Polish national team. “Especially because the record has been broken by one of the girls that used to be here back in 1998, so that’s been quite a long time since that happened.”
The two jumpers are not the only Aggies to have broken a school record this year; junior Ruth Hilton broke the indoor 3000-meter at 9:47.48, junior Daniel Howell took the 5000-meter record with a time of 14:11.62, and the distance medley relay team, made up of seniors Jason Holt, Eric Larson and James Allred and freshman Tanner Hunt, posted a record time of 9:43.11.
Aggie pole vault coach Joel Johnson said it is nice to be a part of a good team.
“That’s something that we’ve always had here at Utah State track and field,” Johnson said. “We’ve won a lot of championships both the men’s and women’s side in the last 20 years. So we have a good history of being and doing really good things, so I’m just excited for what the season has to offer us.”
Silcock was named second-team All-American and Grabowska earned an honorable mention from the Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their achievements over the indoor season, but both said they felt they could have done better at the national championship.
“A lot of guys were falling because the track was so slick there,” Silcock said. “I actually slid a few times, so it kinda messes with you mentally I guess you could say. I ended up cutting my approach in half from a 10-step to a six-step. But I still jumped well from a six step approach; jumped 7-foot-1, missed all-American by one place. It was very frustrating for me.”
Grabowska said the meet was frustrating for her because she did not clear her opening height.
“I had some problems with the runway because it’s a little bouncy and you really have to be careful how you run on this, but I can’t blame it on that because everyone had the same runway,” Grabowska said. “I felt great in warm-ups and everything seemed to be fine and for some reason just the day turned around and just everything fell apart and I just couldn’t put it together and I got nervous and it just didn’t work like it worked at conference and every other meet.”
Despite what could have been, the Aggies look forward to the future. Grabowska will red-shirt the 2011 outdoor season to finish up her degree in exercise science.
“I’m a very competitive person, so it’s cool for me,” Grabowska said. “Every single PR (personal record) that comes is going to be another school record. That’s just cool, cause I can tell that every time I jump I’m gonna break a school record, if I have a good day.”
Silcock, however, said he is hungry to jump well in the coming season after his disappointment at the national meet.
“We’re going to Arizona this weekend and I’m so ready to jump well there,” Silcock said. “I’m planning on jumping high cause I know that I can and I was planning on doing it at nationals and it didn’t happen. Now I just have to do it.”
Utah State is returning 18 seniors for this outdoor season and seven Western Athletic Conference champions from the indoor season.
Among those returning is senior sprinter Armahd Lewis from Stockton, Calif. Lewis won the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes at the WAC championships in February and is a favorite for the outdoor season sprint events.
For the distance races, Allred and Holt are looking to take care of things in the 800-meter after finishing first and second in the event during the WAC finals. Larson will also look to defend his indoor title in the mile, while Howell defends his first and second finishes in the 3000 and 5000-meter races.
“Outdoor is going to be that much better,” Silcock said.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu