Mason Brubaker won the pole vault with a height of 4.7 meters. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
This past weekend, the Men’s Track and Field team competed at both the BU season opener as well as the Brown Alden Invite at Brown University.
Despite having only a few athletes competing at the BU season opener, the Rams still made quite the impact, with graduate student Tyler Rubush setting a school record in the 3000 meter with a time of 8:08.18, breaking an almost 40 year record. Fourth-year Eric Zulkofske finished close behind Rubush at 8:15.50.
Rubush was both surprised and elated by his performance, not expecting such a result.
“I really didn’t expect it,” Rubush said. “I just ran my race and in the end I was able to get it done, it really was an awesome feeling.”
Rubush also spoke to how much it helped having his teammate Zulkofske in the race along with him.
“Eric set the pace for most of the race,” Rubush said. “He made a big move up to the front of the pack and I went with him. Having him push the pace helped a lot.”
In addition to the stellar performances at BU, the Brown Alden Invite was largely a success for the team, with several notable performances that included first place finishes in various events.
Highlights from the field athletes at the meet included third-year Mason Brubaker placing first in the pole vault with an excellent mark of 4.70 meters and fifth-year Stephen Cirella placing first in the shot put with a stellar throw of 16.57 meters. Fourth-year Orion Joyner and third-year Alexander Baez placed second in the triple jump and weight throw respectively. An impressive performance in the high jump saw teammates Jack Reichenbach and Ryan Tona tie for second place with the same exact mark of 1.97 meters.
The Rams showed their depth and versatility as a team with several impressive performances in the track events as well, with senior Aidan Kindopp taking first place in the mile with a time of 4:15.42 with teammate Eli Baker taking third place right behind him at 4:17.96.
Fourth-year Jolon O’Connor took first in the 60 meter with a blazing time of 6.85 and third-year Liam Creeley took second in the event at 6.88 seconds. Third-year Lucas Plaia took second in the 300 meter with a time of 35.51, and the 4×400 meter relay team consisting of Kyle Paterson, Ianique Imboque, Joey Guarnieri, and CJ Kiviat took home third place with a commendable time of 3:25.12.
When asked about the team’s performance in an earlier start to the season than usual, Head Coach Trent Baltzell stated that the squad hadn’t reached their full potential.
“A large part of the team didn’t even use a full approach,” Baltzell said. “We definitely weren’t feeling pressure to go all out this early, but it was certainly a confidence booster.”
Although pleased with the results, Baltzell was insistent that there was still a lot of work to do ahead of them.
“A lot of guys are in a strong learning curve right now,” Baltzell said. “But we have good leadership within the team that will help them through it.”
Overall, with a long indoor season ahead, Baltzell and the team have massive goals.
“First we have to focus on steadily improving as a team and building on what we have,” Baltzell said. “However we are also aiming for what would be our 5th A10 track and field championship in a row, and repeating as indoor New England champions”
With a strong start, an experienced and talented team, and great coaching, the Men’s Indoor track and field team looks to continue their recent dominance in the A-10 and beyond.