Colin Fields
Writer
Tom Barr ’12 put on a huge performance in the shot put, breaking the old school record held by Tim Medlock ’10 by nearly a foot, as the men’s track team picked up a combined nine victories and set 19 top-10 school marks at Youngstown State last weekend.
Barr’s toss of 54 feet, 11.5 inches was good for second place in the shot put. Barr’s fellow teammates Stephen Koullias ’13 and Quinten Marcott ’13 also finished fourth and fifth respectively in the shot put.
“This current group of throwers has made phenomenal improvements this year. The sheer amount of work put into practice time for all of these men has more than paid off,” Marcott said.
Barr picked up a victory in the weight throw, finishing with a throw of 63-5 and just missing out on another personal best.
“I am happy to beat Tim’s record. Records are meant to be broken, and as a former Bison Tim left his record as a challenge for someone to beat, and I am glad that I rose to the occasion,” Barr said.
On the track, Jason Brown ’13 set personal bests in the high jump and 60-meter hurdles. Brown’s mark in the high jump was good enough for first place while his 60-meter time was good for sixth place.
“It’s really satisfying to see the hard work and specialized coaching come together to pay off like it did when I won the high jump,” Brown said.
Alex Prieto ’14 also set a personal best in the triple jump, launching himself into the top ten in the record books and giving him the victory.
“It felt great to finally set a PR in triple jump. I had been struggling in the beginning of the season and was glad to see my hard work pay off,” Prieto said.
The Bison cleaned house in the 5,000 meters, taking four of the top five spots. D.J. Krystek ’13 took first with a time of 14:56.48 and Jon Dugan ’15, Robert Yamnicky ’13 and Mike McGowan ’15 took third, fourth and fifth respectively.
“It felt pretty awesome to finish with so much orange and blue up front. It is great to know you have so many guys running at similar levels because we can all help each other out on the track and during training,” McGowan said. “The upperclassmen have really been great role models for me by showing me how to excel in the sport. They are teaching me that training does not start and end at the official practice time, but starts from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.”
The Bison resume action at the Bucknell Winter Classic on Saturday at Gerhard Fieldhouse. The Winter Classic marks the final meet before the Patriot League Indoor Championships.