By Colin Fields
Writer
The men’s track team was victorious at the Patriot League Championships last weekend in Gerhard Fieldhouse. Led by Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet Justin Hicks ’13, the Bison were able to hold off defending champion Navy and capture their first Indoor title since 1993. The Bison recorded six victories and edged out the Midshipmen by 8.75 points for the title.
Hicks propelled the Bison with two victories, one in the 60 meters and one in the 200 meters. Hicks’ semifinal time of 6.84 to put him into the finals broke a school record. Hicks then followed up with another stellar performance in the finals to record the first ever Bison victory in the 60 meters.
Hicks continued to put his name in the record books when he ran a 21.88 in the 200 meters, tying the Patriot League record which has stood since 2000. His time was also the fastest time ever run in Gerhard Fieldhouse.
Hicks also helped the 4×400 relay team to a fourth-place finish.
“Winning the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet is a great feeling. It’s always good to know that hard work and dedication is paying off. I am very excited about my personal performances as well as the great team effort we saw over that past weekend,” Hicks said.
The Bison picked up a couple of key victories from defending champions Tom Barr ’12 in the shot put and Andrew Powell ’12 in the heptathlon. Barr defended his title with a throw of 55’ 6.25’’, breaking his own school record set at Youngstown State three weeks ago. Teammate and fellow thrower Leonard Joseph ’13 threw a career best 63’ in the weight throw to take gold. Barr finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 62’ 8.5’’. The Bison throwers accounted for 40 of the Orange and Blue’s 185 points.
“It feels pretty amazing to defend my title in shot put and it felt great to break the 55’ barrier. I have been fortunate to have a great group of men around me challenging me and pushing me to achieve my potential,” Barr said. “We are pushing each other every day and our results are showing it. Records are meant to be broken, and I hope that I have pushed and trained my teammates enough to break my record when I am gone.”
Powell posted a personal record time in the 60-meter hurdles and recorded the top mark in the high jump on his way to his heptathlon victory. The senior broke his own record in the heptathlon and racked up 18 points for the Bison.
Several Bison will participate in the IC4A Championships next weekend. The outdoor season begins March 31.
“If we won the indoor title, which is the harder one to win, we should dominate the outdoor championship,” Barr said.