LA PLUME, Pa. – Numerous Fanciscan track and field records fell as the men's and women's track and field teams had an outstanding Colonial States Athletic Conference championship meet. The Lady Barons finished fifth with 67 team points while the Barons also took fifth with 39.5 team points.
"We simply had a fantastic weekend," remarked head coach Vince Oliver. "The weather was horrible, but everyone did their thing and glorified God with all of their hard work. We placed better than we did last year which is proof that our program is getting better and growing. And these young men and women are working their tails off to really put Franciscan track and field on the map."
Freshman Janelle Lunde stole the show for the Lady Barons as she won the long jump, capturing the first ever gold medal for either the Barons or Lady Barons at the conference championship meet. Lunde's jump of 4.90 meters set the Franciscan school record and was one of three school records Lunde set over the weekend. Lunde jumped 10.08 meters in the triple jump to take fifth and set the FUS record as a full member of the NCAA (Noelle Kummant holds the overall school record of 10.15 meter as a provisional member of the NCAA).
Lunde helped the 4x100 meter relay team to bring home sixth in the race with a school record time of 53.47, breaking an eight-year old record set when Franciscan was still a provisional member of the NCAA. The previous mark stood at 53.54. Joining Lunde in the school-record run was senior Suki Almeida, Maddie Birong, and Maria Heisler.
Lunde qualified for finals and scored in all of her races over the weekend. In the 100-meter hurdles, Lunde qualified with a time of 17.63 and ran an 18.19 in the finals for a fifth-place finish. In the 400-meter hurdles, Lunde narrowly missed her FUS record by just .61 as she took third with a time of 1:09.54. The freshman was just .21 off the second-place finisher.
"Janelle was phenomenal today in everything she did," remarked head coach Vince Oliver. "She was a multi-faceted and is a workhorse for us. She has a determination to do her best for us every week, and that's what she does."
Almeida joined the record-breaking club with an impressive run in the 100-meter dash. Though she did not qualify for a highly-competitive final, the Steubenville native did run the best 100-meter dash of her career. Almeida broke her own school record and the provisional school record with a run of 13.22. Birong broke her personal best in the same preliminary heat as Almeida with a time of 13.97. Senior Kristie Kelly ran the 100-meter dash for the first time this season and finished with a time of 15.45.
Almeida just missed qualifying for the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.36 and missed the program record by .04. The final qualifier from the preliminary race finished with a time of 27.34 in the second heat. Kelly (32.65) and senior Sarah Kuepper (32.95) each ran personal-bests in the 200 as well.
Chasing her own school record, Almeida tied her school record in the 400-meter run as she took second with a time of 1:00.70 in a race she was seeded third. Anne Sweeney took 10th with a personal-best time of 1:07.40 while Kuepper (1:16.11/14th) and Kelly (1:16.26/15th) added to their collection of personal best times in the race.
"She put her all on the line for us today," continued Coach Oliver. "She emptied the tank in every race and finished her career with us on top of her game. She went out a leader and lead by example like she did all year. We are going to miss her leadership and spunk and her leadership next year. She has set a great example for the younger runners."
Maria Potvin captured fourth in the 800-meter run with an incredible personal-best time of 2:28.84, shaving nine seconds off of her best mark this season. Sophomore Emily Theurer took sixth with a personal-best time of 2:29.38. Potvin had a stellar run it the 1,500 meter run as she took just over 17 seconds off of her personal best with a time of 5:11.83 and took eighth. The Stamford, VT native took fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 13:06.78.
"Maria is solid but has a kick. She is a small little girl, but boy is she fierce in the track," remarked Coach Oliver. "
In the grueling 10,000 meter run, Francesca Santos took ninth with a personal-best time of 47:35.00.
The 4x400 meter relay team of Almeida, Sweeney, Heisler, and Theurer broke the FUS school record with a time of 4:23.35 and took second in the conference.
"Anne ran as a substitute runner in the 4x400 today and just did a fantastic job," complimented Coach Oliver. "She stepped in and ran a great race and helped us to a school record, she just did a great job."
In the field, several Lady Barons joined Lunde with point-scoring performances. Maria Castello took eighth in the long jump with a jump of 4.34 meters while Heisler took seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 9.65 meters. Castello took eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 9.27 meters.
Freshman Rachel Solomon celebrated her birthday today as she set a personal-best in the javelin with a third-place throw of 28.88 meters, beating her previous best mark by .34 meters.
On the men's side, the 4x400 meter relay team of Carlo Fabian, Jim Craig, John Paul Tysz and John Bolster broke the school record as thy took fourth with a time of 3:33.23, breaking the previous mark of 3:33.52, set in 2012.
In the 100-meter dash, Fabian missed the FUS school record by .01 as he took 15th in the prelims with a time of 11.53. Tysz took 17th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.57.
Tysz dropped .32 off of his personal best in the 200-meter dash as he took 12th in the prelims with a time of 23.21 and was just .40 off of the school record. Fabian also posted a season-best in the race as he took 15th with a time of 23.44.
Craig picked up a personal best in the 400-meter run as he took third in the highly competitive race with a time of 50.89 and Fabian came in eighth with a time of 51.58, a personal best for the Steubenville, OH native. John Lademan shaved almost a full second off of his personal best in the 400 as he took 19th with a time of 59.15, breaking the one-minute mark for the first time.
Freshman Patrick Tansill and Bolster each recorded personal bests in the 800-meter run. Tansill tied for eighth place with a time of 2:03.82 while Bolster took 10th with a time of 2:04.77.
Tansill scored in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:15.65 to take fifth, while sophomore Nicholas Long PR'd in the race with a time of 4:16.59 to take sixth. Long dropped four seconds off of his personal best this weekend.
After running in a very tough 10,000-meter run the night before, freshman Matthew Crotteau took sixth in the 5,000-meter run first thing Sunday morning. Crotteau ran a 16:53.40.
The night before, Crotteau took third in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 34:50.40 while senior Emmett Delaney PR'd the race with a time of 38:44.95, running half of the race with just one shoe, and took seventh.
"With about 25 laps to go, Delaney pulls a "Bill Jones" and loses a shoe but he keeps going," said Coach Oliver. "He ran half of the race with one shoe and still PR'd by over a minute. That just speaks to his determination. I don't care about numbers, places, or medals, I care about effort and that's what is going to take them through life. And this was a great example of that effort."
In a somewhat unfamiliar race for Long, the Youngstown, OH native ran a very strong 3,000-meter steeplechase. Long took third in a highly competitive race with a time of 10:19.68, taking over 15 seconds off of his previous personal best.
"That was a new event for Nick and he took third with a very strong men's field," complimented Coach Oliver.
In the field, freshman Kevin Jarmusik PR'd in the high jump with a height of 1.62 meters while Quinton Smith hit a personal best in the long jump with a distance of 5.30 meters.
Sean Growe threw a personal-best in the javelin with a throw of 37.87 meters to take ninth.
"I can't say enough about the team and the coaches and the plans they put forth for the team," remarked Coach Oliver following the meet. "I couldn't imagine a better season. We have a great foundation to build on next year and have a great recruiting class coming in. I am extremely proud to be a part of this program. I could go through every member of my team and tell you how much they have improved each meet, and that just goes to show you how much they work. We battled the injury bug all season and they never gave up and this weekend was proof of that.
"I am so humbled by all of these athletes and to be their coach, I can't say enough. They are incredible young men and women and I can't wait for next year."
