The men's track and field team kicked off its 2006-07 indoor track season with a bang on Saturday at the annual Husky Winter Carnival, held at Northeastern.
Competing against several Div. I schools, including the University of New Hampshire and Boston University, the Jumbos were able to hold their own, and several team members secured slots in the finals of their respective events. Coach Ethan Barron was pleased with the way his team performed in its season debut.
"It was a great start to the season," Barron said. "It was a good way of measuring where we are in our training program, and the guys showed today just how much potential they have."
The Jumbos turned in strong performances across the board, highlighted by two of their senior tri-captains, Fred Jones and Nate Cleveland. Jones finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 14.09 meters, while Cleveland set a personal record of 1:57.55, finishing third in the 800-meter run.
"Fred and Nate are leaders both on and off the track," Barron said. "When you have your leaders perform like that, it gives a lot of confidence to the rest of the team."
While pleased with Jones' and Cleveland's efforts, Barron hopes to see more from the rest of the team.
"I'm always satisfied when I see Nate and Fred perform like that," Barron said. "However, I think that we are capable of much more."
While Jones and Cleveland led the team with a pair of impressive performances, the Jumbos received a noteworthy boost from several other team members. Freshmen Peter Browne (9:09.53) and Nick Welch (15:21.76) launched their indoor track careers in impressive fashion, finishing fifth in the 3000- and 5000-meter runs, respectively, while freshman Ikenna Acholonu captured sixth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.94 seconds.
Junior Joe Brown was another top Jumbo performer, placing second in the weight throw with a toss of 15.95 meters.
"Acholonu had a great race," Barron said. "The college hurdles are significantly higher than the high school ones so, he did great with those. Also, I was very impressed with Joe Brown, who like Nate, set a personal record."
While the season remains young, the potential of the young freshman class
appears promising.
"Welch and Browne ran great," senior distance runner Josh Kennedy said. "They both have a lot of room for improvement, but I think they'll be able to be a really strong boost to our distance team. This year's freshman class is really solid, and I think they are going to be able to develop very quickly."
Despite the apparent potential of this year's team, Barron was quick to note that it is still early in the season, as the team is still trying to find its identity.
"We are going all-out in every race," Barron said. "But these early races are still developmental. Guys are competing in events that they normally don't participate in, and we are just trying to build endurance and speed for the rest of the season."
The Jumbos look to continue their team development at events including the Bates Pentathalon, their last meet of the month, this weekend.
