Records are extremely hard to come by. It took Roger Maris 34 years to break Babe Ruth’s record for most home runs in a single season. Some records may never be broken, but this past weekend, a pair of Oswego State track and field records were set, by the same person.

Carly Vreugde set the school record for fastest 200- and 400-meter dash with times of 26.93 and 58.06, respectively, at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston. Although this was Vreudge’s first time breaking records at Oswego State, she has a history of such tendencies dating back to her high school career in Lake George.

Vreudge was a four-year member of Lake George High School’s track and field team, and she currently holds three records for the school, as she ran the fastest 200 meter, 400 meter and 4×400 meter relay. While Vreudge understands that records are meant to be broken, she is very happy that, for now, she can claim the fastest times in program history.

“It is amazing,” Vreudge said. “You hope it stays there for a while … but it is really nice to see all the hard work pay off.”

Although Vreudge was the record-breaker, the women’s side had several integral components to their strong finish in the invitational hosted by Boston University. Junior sprinter, Shaniece Gregory, ran the fifth fastest 200 meter in program history with a time of 26.69 seconds. That was her second-fastest time in her collegiate career, approximately half a second slower than her personal best set on April 24, 2018. Compared to years past, this season, the women’s team has had a lot of success, something head coach Evan Magnussen was proud of.

“It’s very exciting. It means that we are moving in the right direction,” Magnussen said. “We are just focused on what is important to their performance.”

It is not just a select few that have taken significant strides since Magnussen was named head coach in 2017. Both the men’s and women’s teams have performed well under Magnussen, but this is something that was expected. While they are moving in the right direction, the team understands that college athletics are cyclical.

“[The success] shows that we are making moves in the right direction,” Magnussen said. “We definetly try to keep a long-term view of the program, understanding that we might have a few years right off the bat [where] things get better. There will likely be a small dip, and then we build from there. That’s basic training overall but [also] the cycle of sports programs.”

Training is something the track program has taken very seriously over the last several seasons. Magnussen preaches long-term goals of improving day-after-day rather than comparing the squads to other schools and universities. This mindset has helped athletes like Tim Olmsted and Nick LeClair continue to work as they are set to break personal bests this season. Olmsted already shattered his personal best in the 300 meter when he ran the full distance in just 8:40.46 at the Valentine Invitational. Olmsted’s new time was just over one second slower than the school record but was an impressive 11 seconds faster than his previous best. Although it was such a huge jump, the magnitude of the time improvement was expected.

“I went out at a faster pace than I have before, so being at a bigger meet, I was able to hold on to faster guys,” Olmsted said. “That was the plan from the beginning, just knowing there was going to be faster kids at this meet, so being able to stick with them was the main goal.”

For Olmsted, his goals go beyond just sticking with the front pack at each meet.

“A main goal is to break the school record in the 3k,” Olmsted said. “After this weekend, I am only one second off of it. So coming back at the regional meet and doing that would be the main goal.”

Perhaps the most impressive note to make regarding Olmsted’s resume as a 3000 meter distance runner is how quickly he has made progress.

“Tim was someone who, when I first came in, he was dead set on, ‘I am a miler and I am a 800 meter guy.’ It took me probably a year … to convince him to push to the longer events,” Magnussen said. “He is a small build with a lot of aerobic capacity. He can handle a lot of lactic acid, a lot of pain essentially and can really push through that.”

Despite a level head, the athletes on the team set their sights high.

“Me and coach are hoping that [I] make it to nationals,” Vreudge said.

Graphic by Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian