One of the men's track team's key components for success this winter season has been the effort of junior Bryan Pitko. This wide receiver for Jumbo football has also had a breakout season on the track, where he runs the 200-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles. Pitko's time in the latter event at last weekend's ECAC meet qualified him for this weekend's Nationals at Ohio Northern University.
The Arlington, MA, native won he 55 hurdles to become the New England champion at the New England Division III championships at Boston University two weeks ago. A time of 7.69 seconds made Pitko a provisional qualifier for the NCAAs. Consequently, the junior was placed on a list ranking athletes for consideration for Nationals after the automatic qualifiers had been determined. The automatic qualifying time of 7.59 seconds was registered by only two athletes, meaning that Pitko will compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, to be held today and tomorrow in Ada, OH.
Pitko will participate in the event with 13 other athletes from across the nation. His qualifying time of 7.69 seconds ranks him eighth among his counterparts. The preliminaries for the 55 hurdles begin Friday night, and the final is slated for Saturday afternoon.
Pitko carries the distinction of being the only member of either the men's or women's teams to qualify for Nationals. A handful of runners on both teams were provisional qualifiers , but barely missed making the cut.
Although most of the competitors will be new to Pitko, he competed against two of the qualifiers at the ECAC meet last weekend, where he came in third with a time of 7.73 seconds.
Enrique Llamos of Montclair State College, the ECAC champion, was the leading qualifier for Nationals after recording a time of 7.56 seconds. Also participating in Ohio with a time of 7.71 seconds is Shawn Levinson from the College of New Jersey. His time was good enough to place just ahead of Pitko at the ECACs. Levinson was also finished sixth-place at Nationals last year. Adding to the talented field in Ohio are the two of the top five finishers at the Nationals from last year, Ryan Rogers of Wheaton College and Chris Pearson of Carroll College, respectively.
Pitko's success this season reflects over two years of track success. As a freshman, he placed third at the New England Div. III with a time of 7.81 seconds. He duplicated that result in his sophomore campaign, improving his time to 7.74 seconds.
This season, Pitko's times have steadily improved.
Pitko's athletic ability has been demonstrated on the football field as well; he was a steady contributor for the Jumbos in their 6-2 season this fall, making five catches for 129 yards while leading the receivers with two touchdown receptions.
