With its first outdoor meet of the season at home, the men’s track team hoped to start off on the right foot.
Coming off their first ever Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship in either the indoor or outdoor season, the Bombers looked to carry some of that momentum into the Ithaca Invitational, held yesterday at Butterfield Stadium.
The Bombers exuded optimism and confidence for the start of the outdoor season.
“Traditionally we have been a better team outdoors than indoors,” sophomore hurdler Dan Maloney said. “So [winning the indoor ECAC] is a good sign for the outdoor season, it’s a big confidence booster.”
The weather was crisp and breezy for the Ithaca Invitational, with the temperature lingering in the 30s. The cold weather can create more of a hazard for athletes to sustain injuries. Considering this, and the fact that the Bombers have already dealt with a slew of injuries, the team was trying to balance a strong showing with staying healthy for the still early season.
“The goal is to not get hurt, as cold as it is,” freshman hurdler Matt Confer said.
Senior middle distance runner Brendan Hurley can attest to avoiding injuries. Leg injuries have impeded him from competing.
“After dealing with a few injuries on the team, we want to stay healthy,” Hurley said. “We want to see where we are trainingwise after spring break.”
Nevertheless, the Bombers put up a good showing at Saturday’s event. Starting off the day, junior John Davis and senior Curt Bell finished first and second in the 10,000-meter run with times of 34:10 and 34:11, respectively.
Junior Max Orenstein, freshman Chris Mastrosimone, sophomore Doug Koury and junior Jeff Wetmore won the 4×100 meter relay by three seconds over the second place team.
Freshman Matt Confer won the 110-meter hurdles and Koury and Mastrosimone placed first and second in the 400-meter dash, respectively.
In the pole vault, senior Andrew Brown and freshman Jeff Willis placed first and second, respectively. Junior Brian Turnbull placed third in the javelin with a throw of 45.61 meters.
The Ithaca Invitational was a positive step for the nascent outdoor season. The Bombers won the meet and had first place finishes in six different events, as well as five ECAC championship-qualifying finishes. Still, Moloney said it is important to keep the season in perspective.
“We want to get on the right foot,” Moloney said. “But we don’t want to psych ourselves out. It’s still just the first meet.”
With their first ever ECAC championship followed by a victory at home, the Bombers look poised to continue their success as they continue competition at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Dick Shea Open in West Point, N.Y.
