Four from outdoor track team to compete at the ECAC's

Steven M Miller Jr, Staff Writer

This Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the Bridgewater State College outdoor track and field team will compete in the New England regional ECAC meet at SUNY Onenota. Each of the four runners that is competing has set the bar high as they each are trying to qualify for the Division III Nationals sometime next week.

Representatives from the women’s track and field team are junior Nicole Mauro (10,000 meter run), junior Christine Hrenko (Heptathlon and Javelin), and senior Anna Fegan (Hammer Throw). The lone representative from the men’s team will be Nilton Gomes, who will be competing in the triple jump.

This past weekend Hrenko garnered New England Intercolleciate Amatuer Athletic Association Honors with a 5th place finish in the Javelin throw, in the New England All-Divisional meet. Hrenko said that she was surprised about competing in the meet.

“I didn’t know what to expect with all divisions there,” said Hrenko. “It was awesome to throw with some much better throwers. You learn a couple of things and it’s just a really different atmosphere.”

While Hrenko’s throw didn’t qualify her for the national competition, she remains optimistic about her experience.

“I knew that I belonged there,” said Hrenko. “While I didn’t qualify for the nationals, I know that I have one more shot in the next meet.”

While competing this week in the Javelin throw, she will also be competing in the Heptathlon, which is based upon how many points you score in eight different events. The seven events in the Heptathlon are the 100m hurdles, the high jump, the shot put, the 200 m run, the 800 m run, and the javelin. The events take place over the course of two days.

Hrenko said that she often has to compete at several events at the same time.

“During meets the toughest part is trying to check in to all of my events,” said Hrenko. “It’s difficult to try and change my sneakers to another pair and it’s usually very chaotic. The coaches usually help me check me into my own events, untie my sneakers for me, and bring them to the next event when I’m ready.

Hrenko said she hopes to qualify for the national competition in the Heptathlon.

“The Heptathlon is based on points, so if I was to win the ECAC meet, I would still have to get the number of points to qualify,” said Hrenko.

Teammate Nicole Mauro said that she was amazed at how Hrenko is able to compete in so many events.

“I can only imagine how daunting the Heptathlon is,” said Mauro. “She is always moving from one event to another and then go right back to that event. Its amazing how she stays energetic throughout the competition.”

Mauro is competing in the 10,000 meter run (24 laps). She said the race is very challenging and by far, it is her favorite race to compete in.

“It’s the longest race that you can run on the track and it takes a lot of endurance and strategy,” said Mauro. “You just can’t run as fast as you can. You have to think about every lap, you need to know when to pick it up, and you need to know when relax.”

Mauro said to qualify for the Division III Nationals she would have to break the 36:00 minute qualifying time or the 37:40 provisional time. Her best time has been 38:09, which she ran two weeks ago at the New England Division III meet.

“I’m very close to hitting provisional time and I think I would be able to hit it at the ECAC’s,” said Mauro. “Unfortunately I would have to break that time by a lot to reassure a spot at the nationals. There are a number of girls who have already qualified with the provisional time and I would have to knock them out of the spot. You never know what’s going to happen though.”

Anna Fegan is competing in the hammer throw. She said that for the indoor meets she will compete in the weight throw, but the hammer throw is her favorite event.

“I’ve been doing the shot put and discus since high school, but they are not as intriguing as the hammer,” said Fegan.

The Stoughton native said that the hammer throw isn’t an event that is included in competition for outdoor track and field meets in Massacusetts high schools.

“Its (an event) that is thrown in high schools in Rhode Island, so people from that state are pretty good throwers,” said Fegan. “It supposedly takes seven years to learn how to throw and I plan on competing in the Bay State games every summer. I like watching people who are better than me, so I can watch and learn from them.

Fegan said that this is her first time competing in an event in her four years at Bridgewater.

“I never thought id qualify before in the hammer,” said Fegan. “I thought that if I ever did (qualify) it would be in the shot (put) or the disc. It has been harder to improve in those events.”

Nilton Gomes is competing in the triple jump. He thinks that he is up for the challenge at the ECAC meet.

“I think that (the triple jump) is one of the most challenging events,” said Gomes. “It requires a lot of coordination and athleticism. I have faced a lot of good competition in this event, including three All-Americans and last years (Division III) National Champion.”

Gomes says that he excited at the opportunity to compete in the ECAC meet and try to qualify for the nationals.

“I hope that I can take advantage of this opportunity,” said Gomes. “I really learned how to jump correctly this year for the first time. I think that if it’s a good day, with good weather and I’m feeling good, I just might be able to pop off a surprising jump.”

Gomes said that he would like to encourage more people from Bridgewater State to join the track team.

“There are almost 10,000 people that come to BSC,” said Gomes. “I know that there are a lot of good athletes here. They should try out for the team and showcase their talent. It’s fun and not so demanding on the schedule.”

Fegan said that she was very proud of this year’s track and field team. She also said that she was going to miss the team when she graduates in the spring.

“I’ve met so many great people and we’ve been through a lot,” said Fegan. “And we still continue to have a lot of great performances, which is something to be proud of.”

Although the outdoor track and field team is small, Hrenko said that she thinks it’s been a pretty good year.

“Everyone did really well this year, and we have
had some of our strongest performances,” said Hrenko. “Seven of us qualified for the Division III New England meet and four of us qualified for the ECAC meet. I don’t think that we have had that many people qualify before.”

Mauro said that she was happy about how this year’s track season went.

“For the most part we had a great track season,” said Mauro. “Although many of our runners fought through injuries we still had a fun and successful season. This season we were closer than ever, we were always cheering for one another and giving advice. Every year our team gets closer and stronger. Hopefully this will lead to a promising one, next year.”

This year, the women’s outdoor track and field team placed second in the six team MASCAC meet. The men’s team placed in fourth place.

The sports page of The Comment will bring you highlights, updates, and scores of this weeks ECAC meet when they become available. Stay tuned for more details.