Men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams look to make strong return after break
Collin Bergey running in 200 meter dash
Photo credit: David Sinclair
By Andy Milone, Web Content Editor
The Gettysburg College men’s indoor track & field team claimed a fourth place finish in the Centennial Conference preseason poll, and the team returns a wealth of experience across the board to back up the expectations. The team finished fourth at last season’s championship meet.
The team is coming out of the winter break with no team practices for a little over a month. Senior captain Collin Bergey leads the charge in the sprints, but he does recognize that it is still early in the season with only the team’s second meet coming up this weekend.
“Personally I hope to put in a performance on the track that is competitive with the top-five competitors in our conference,” said Bergey. “While I know it is unlikely for me to repeat my times from our December meet so soon after the break it is important to start this segment of our indoor season right.”
The men excel in depth with most events, but they will have to make up for the loss of NCAA national competitor Andre Hinds who was a two-time conference champion and was named an All-American in his last outdoor meet of the season.
The women’s side will look to improve upon a fifth place finish in the preseason poll as they return a star studded 4×200 relay team led by junior Sarah Congdon and senior captain Emily Waddel, which took home a bronze medal in the indoor conference meet last season. The team will look to make up for the losses of NCAA national competitors Katie Cavanaugh and Katie McCoubrie.
“I think the team will do quite well in our first meet back from break. We were given training packets before break with daily workouts and lift schedules to follow and have come back to practice this week full force with the expectation that each of us has completed our workouts,” said Waddel.
Before the break, the teams officially opened their seasons at the Franklin & Marshall College Invitational on December 3rd where the distance crews did not compete due to the recent termination of their cross country season.
Bergey demonstrated his speed in the 200 meter dash with a second place finish in 22.95 seconds while he contributed a fourth place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.11. These were collegiate personal records for Bergey on the indoor track.
First year Max Borchert competed in the same races contributing a seventh place in the 400 meter dash at 52.94 and a thirteenth place finish in the 200 meter dash at 23.93. Junior Willie Nolan took home fourth in the pole vault at 12-11 1/2.
Senior captain Ben Taber will be making a return this weekend after a breakout final cross country season where he finished 46th in the national championship meet. Senior captain Nate Wojick will also return as one of the top 800 meter runners in the conference.
For the women at Franklin & Marshall, Waddell demonstrated versatility outside of the sprints with a fourth place finish in the triple jump at 33-4 1/2. Congdon also stepped up to deliver a fifth place finish in the 400 meters at 1:03.12 and a 11th place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.77. Junior Ellery Lyon posted a ninth place finish in the shot put with a throw of 34-11 1/4.
Senior captain Amanda Asaro will also be returning after a strong a cross country season, and she will be looking to return to her consistent form in the 800 meter dash while other senior captain Eva Karkuff will look to contribute in the 800 meter dash and 1500 meter race.
“We had a longer break than most other teams in the conference so the most important part of this meet is building a foundation for the season,” said Bergey. “Hopefully most people will put in a good performance at Lehigh this weekend to help build momentum going into the rest of the indoor season.”
The men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams will test their strengths this Saturday at the Lehigh John Covert Classic, the teams’ second meet of the season.
