By Tory Igoe, news staff
In light of mixed performances plaguing their early season, Northeastern University’s (NU) men’s and women’s track and field teams shined on their home turf. Despite falling short of West Point and the University of Massachusetts Amherst by narrow margins, both teams boasted second place finishes and many individually strong performances.
“Due to the fact we are still in the early part of the season, I am optimistic about the foundations we are laying for the rest of the season,” head coach Cathrine Erickson said.
Named in honor of Northeastern track and field legend, throwing coach and Hall of Famer Joe Donahue, the Joe Donahue Games brought together collegiate athletes from across the northeast to compete at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center. From West Point and Boston College, to Central Connecticut State University and Brown University, the Huskies faced many formidable opponents. In light of this, the Huskies excelled.
The meet consisted of various short and long distance events, ranging from the 60-meter to the 3,000-meter. The Huskies met the challenge head-on, creating lasting impressions not only in the named events, but in the shot put, high jump and pole vaulting events as well. Specifically, senior Paul Duffey of the men’s team lit up the track with a mile time of 4 minutes, 0.79 seconds. Junior Ryan Kim for the shot put threw for an astounding 16.98 meters, and sophomore Chris Jewett ran the 500-meter dash in an impressive 1 minute, 4.52 seconds.
“[Jewett and Kim] had solid performances that will make an impact as we continue throughout the season,” Erickson said.
For the women’s team, sophomore Paige Suse dominated, as she won her fourth straight meet of this year with a high jump length of 1.71 meters. Senior Jessica Scott enjoyed a first place finish in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.63 seconds, adding to the array of successes garnered throughout the day. With sophomore Lauren Swanson and freshman Leeyan Redwood making Eastern College Athletic Conference qualifying times alongside them, there’s no limit to what the Huskies may accomplish moving forward.
Although there were vast improvement from last week’s seventh place finish at Harvard University, Erickson said much work lies ahead for this breakout team.
“As we move into the meets at [Boston University] (BU), I am looking forward to our mid-distance and distance athletes hitting their qualifiers as the competition is a bit stronger at these meets,” she said.
Next week, some Huskies will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, where they will compete at the Penn State National Invite from Friday to Saturday. Some athletes will also be competing at the John Thomas Invitational at BU on Saturday.
Despite the premature state of affairs, Erickson made clear her optimism for the remainder of the season. As the athletes continue to improve throughout the many meets left, she said more strong showings are expected.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
