BY CHRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ
Senior Staff Writer
The Sacred Heart University track and field teams completed the first month of their indoor season. They began their training on campus a few weeks before classes started in preparation for their early meets.
“The training has been going very well,” said sophomore Nick Malzone. “Over the holiday break the team had to come back early on Jan. 2, and we had double session practices each day.”
Sophomore pole vaulter Jaime Maggio hopes that her work in the weight room will reflect to her vaulting. Mental preparation is also something she will try to focus on during meets.
“My goals for this season are to get stronger in the weight room and hope that it transfers to my vaulting. I also would like to work on myself talk at meets to hopefully clear higher heights,” said Maggio.
Both the men’s and women’s teams had their first competition of 2019 at the Wagner College Invitational on Jan. 4. There were some top performances in the competition including ones from sophomore Antonia Hoyos who had two top place finishes.
According to Sacred Heart Athletic Communications, Hoyos placed first in the triple jump and also placed third in the long jump.
On the other hand, early on in the season, freshman Cameron Croce was honored with being a Northeastern Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Week in December. Croce hit a New England qualifying mark in the weight throw with his throw of 16.11 meters – good for second in the league.
Among the top performances on the men’s side were junior Jefferey Young, who made it to the hurdles finals and finished in third place, and senior Christian Turner, who took second place in the shot put. Turner’s shot put had an IC4A qualifying mark of 15.71 meters, a throw that ranks him second in the conference, according to Athletic Communications.
The next week, both teams made another trip to Staten Island for the Great Dance Classic. Turner and Croce both posted New England qualifying performances and Turner was recognized as NEC Field Athlete of the Week.
According to Athletic Communications, Turner had a throw of 15.76 meters in the shot put, good for fourth place. Croce also posted a New England qualifier, placing seventh in the weight throw with a 16.43 meter throw, which remains second in the league in the event.
On the women’s side, Hoyos made it to the finals of the triple jump, recording an 11.24 meter effort, keeping her in second in the NEC event.
Sophomore Samantha Curran and junior Jackie Thorne both made New England qualifications.
According to Athletic Communications, Curran threw a personal-best in the shot put, 12.73 meters, placing fifth and moving into seventh in the NEC, while earning a New England’s qualifying standard. Jackie Thorne posted a time of 3:01.67 in the 1000-meter event, to place seventh and qualify for New England’s.
During the last couple of weeks, both teams had competitions in Boston and had success at the Boston Quadrangular, with wins from Croce and Young on the on the men’s team.
On the women’s team, junior Olivia Weiss won the 1000m event. Weiss broke the tape at 2:59.54 to win the event, with a New England qualifying time.
