The Oswego State track and field team has had an impressive outdoor season, but the Lakers are not done yet. With just one meet left before the SUNYAC meet, the team is looking to build on its already impressive resumé.
Following two trips to SUNY Cortland, one over the weekend and one on Tuesday, the team is looking to build off its impressive marks. Head coach Evan Magnussen spoke on the season and how it has progressed since the beginning.
“It’s been a very good season,” Magnussen said. “It was a very good start to the season at Widener, and we’ve really just kept that level of expectation all outdoor season. No one has really run off their mark, per se, since then, and everyone, almost everyone, has continued to move forward from there, even for a really quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday. We had some very solid marks [Tuesday] as well.”
Some of the best marks from the meets at SUNY Cortland came from junior sprinter Shaniece Gregory, who set a personal record in the 200-meter dash, and from senior distance runner Nick LeClair, who won the 800-meter dash in Tuesday’s meet.
For Gregory, it was her first time breaking 26 seconds in the 200-meter dash. When asked about her recent success, she credited the progress that she has made throughout the season.
“It makes me feel accomplished,” Gregory said. “So, going into that and dropping two seconds makes me see that all this progress that doesn’t happen right away, that it’s gradual, that it really works.”
Gregory is not the only one who believes in the training. LeClair also spoke about how the training results in success.
“For me, it’s just trusting the training,” LeClair said. “Going in every day, doing what you’re supposed to, hitting the practices hard and everything, and then it pays off in the meets.”
Training to better each individual seems to be a theme for the team, working during every practice in order to get better with each meet and improve personally.
“I take the team component completely out of it,” Magnussen said. “I want each individual to run as fast as possible.”
But, despite all the success, both for individuals and as a team, there is still work to be done. With just one meet left at St. John Fisher College coming this Saturday, before the SUNYAC championships, runners are starting to look forward to the higher-pressure situations.
But, while the runners know that these moments may have more at stake, Magnussen does not want there to be pressure put on his runners.
“I treat every meet the exact same,” Magnussen said. “Whether it’s the very first meet we had in December or the national championship, I don’t want anyone to put any more pressure on any single meet.”
While some runners sometimes feel the pressure, they also acknowledge that each meet should be given the same amount of effort.
“You should leave everything on the track every single time,” Gregory said.
Even with this focus, there are still goals to be reached in the upcoming races. As for his expectations for the SUNYAC championship, LeClair, who will be finishing his senior season in the upcoming weeks, is very focused on his goals.
“I think, for me, the big thing is I want to medal, which is top three,” LeClair said. “I’ve never done that before, so that would be a big accomplishment. If not that, I want to get a nice [personal record] and kind of go out with a race that I’m proud of for my last race.”
Graphic by Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian
