By Gerard Turner
The Lakers were in Rochester on Saturday for the St. John Fisher College Invitational. Many athletes were able to record personal bests, qualify for regionals and even engrave their names into the Oswego State track and field history book.
After being named athlete of the week, junior Ashleigh Lacy continues to impress on the track. In Rochester, she was able to qualify for the regional championships for the 100-meter dash after placing second in the preliminary with a time of 12.77 seconds. In the finals for the 100-meter, she placed second again, this time with a time of 12.61 seconds which is now her personal best. Lacy also participated in the 200-meter event, finishing in 27.77 seconds to take fifth place.
Freshman Faith Coyle was able to have a big day as she captured a first-place finish in the women’s 800-meter dash with a time of 2:20:93. This time was good enough to qualify for the regional championships. This is Coyle’s personal best in this event and moves her to fifth all-time in the Oswego State track and field record books. She is only 8.44 seconds away from breaking the all-time record which has been held since 2014. Coyle was able to share her thoughts on this big accomplishment.
“It’s a personal record that I’ve been working towards for almost two years and I feel extremely grateful that I have such a great coach to train with, and such an amazingly supportive team to race for,” Coyle said. “Being on the best all-time list of Oswego is something that I constantly work towards, as I feel like it gives me a chance to leave my mark on the track program.”
Coyle was not done yet as she finished in second place with her team in the women’s 4×800 meter relay. Coyle and her teammates, Ellie Decker, Gretchen Dowd and Rebecca Cropsey participated in this event and had a time of 11:26:77.
Emily Gustafson also had a huge day for the Lakers as she competed in her first-ever javelin throw event in her college career. Her throw put her in second place with a distance of 31.96 meters. This throw puts her fourth all-time in the Oswego State history books, 8.92 meters behind the record holder.
The personal records did not stop there, senior Emily Blake hit her own personal best in the 5000-meter event with a time of 19:34:44. This time was good enough to grab a fourth-place finish and qualify her for regionals.
For the men, Jack Hickey had a solid performance in the 400-meter dash where he earned sixth place with a time of 52.06 seconds.
Hickey’s performance has not gone unnoticed this season. Lacy was able to share her thoughts on her teammate’s season.
“I have been really impressed with Sophomore Jack Hickey,” Lacy said. “He has been battling a painful injury both indoor and outdoor season but still is able to beat his personal records and even perform well in a new event, the 800 meter.”
Hickey also ran the 4×400 meter relay with teammates Chris Dorney, Ousmane Diallo and Aidan Harrington. The Lakers came in third place for this event, finishing in 3:35:38. Harrington competed in two other events, one being the 200-meter dash and the other event being the 400-meter hurdles. Harrington grabbed a third-place finish in the 200-meter event out of 36 runners, finishing with a time of 22.76 seconds. He added another personal best to his resume with a first-place finish in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. His time of 55.86 seconds has qualified him for regionals.
After the St. John Fisher College Invitational, the Lakers headed south on Tuesday to Cortland for the CNY College Challenge. This is the second time in three weeks Oswego State has been in Cortland for a meet and both turned out successful for the team.
Senior Lindsay Fluman had a big day as she had three top-seven finishes. She came in seventh twice for the Shot Put, 10.05 meters, and the Hammer Throw, 39.25 meters. Fluman also grabbed a fifth-place finish in the Discus Throw with a distance of 33.29 meters.
Lacy continued her great performance with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.93 seconds and a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.98 seconds.
Coyle had another solid day on the track as she finished in third place out of eight competitors for the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02:74. She also placed 13th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.03 seconds.
For the men, Hickey ran the 400-meter dash and finished with a time of 52.42 seconds earning a seventh-place finish out of twelve. Hickey also captured a ninth-place finish in the 800-meter dash finishing in 2:04:78. His teammate, Harrington, finished a second ahead of Hickey to place sixth in the event. Harrington also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 11.82 seconds.
Senior Michael Saavedra was able to have another successful week in Cortland, this time placing fourth in the shot put with a 12.34-meter throw. He was able to improve from the last time he was in Cortland for this event when he threw 12.30 meters. Saavedra also finished in eighth place out of 13 participants for the discus throw with a distance of 33.26 meters.
Even after their solid performance, coach Juan Martinez continues to look to help his team improve.
“Our team did well in every event that they competed in,” Martinez said. “Since we do not compete that much in the relays I believe that’s where we need improvements.”
Martinez entered the season as the interim head coach for the men’s and women’s track and field teams. However, on Tuesday he was promoted to the full-time coach, ripping the interim tag off his nameplate in less than one full season. Martinez had his athletes improving every week, breaking personal records at every meet, carving their names in the Oswego State record books and having countless athletes qualifying for regionals.
“It means that my work here as an interim coach did not go unnoticed,” Martinez said. “I’m very grateful to be here and there are good things to come for both our cross country and track programs.”
Martinez will look to continue his team’s success in their last meet of the season at Canton for the St. Lawrence Twilight Meet which will be held on April 30. After this meet the Lakers will get ready for the SUNYAC Championships which will be a two-day event, starting on May 6 and finishing on May 7.
Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics
