By Colin Fields
Writer
Tom Barr ’12 continued his dynamite senior season Saturday with yet another track and field program record in the shot put. Although the event was unscored for team play, 10 other Bison were victorious in Towson, Md. this weekend as the Bison opened up their title defense in this yearʼs outdoor season.
Barr, who had already broken the Bison indoor shot put record earlier this year, continued his success by crushing his old outdoor record. Barr broke his previous outdoor best by two feet, launching a toss of 54’ 2.5’’. Barr broke the outdoor record previously held by Timothy “Big Tim” Medlock who threw for 53’ 5’’ in 2009. Barr finished second overall in the event but was not done after the shot put. In his next event, the hammer throw, Barr picked up a victory with a career best mark of 174’-8’’. Barrʼs performance in the hammer throw placed him in the top 10 in program history for yet another event. Barr then finished fifth in the discus, giving him three top-five spots at the Towson Invitational.
“I am happy to beat Timʼs record,” Barr said. “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. I feel confident moving forward into 2012 after my victories this weekend because every time we compete, it is a test of our technique and conditioning.”
Laddie Trees ’15 showed promise in the javelin, joining Barr with a solid performance in throws. Trees won the javelin in his first-ever outdoor meet, tossing a mark 208’ 7’’ and placing seventh on the all-time list. Teammate Stephen Koullias ’13 also performed well, placing fourth in the shot put with a throw of 51’ 11.25’’. His mark was only 2.75 feet shy of Barrʼs record and placed him in sixth overall in Bison history. Luke Webster ’13 kept the train rolling with a win of his own in the discus with a toss of 157’ 9’’.
On the track, Ray Holmes ’14 picked up two victories in both the triple jump and the long jump. Robert Arent ’12 and Dave Brown ’12 were also successful in their hurdles events. Arent picked up the victory in the 400 meter hurdles and second in the 110 meter hurdles while Brown grabbed another Orange and Blue victory in the 1500 meter hurdles. Justin Hicks ’13, who was the Outstanding Athlete of the Meet in the Patriot League Indoor Championships, won the 100 meters, and Dustin Horning ’13 won the 800 meters.
The Bison will look to continue their success in the upcoming Colonial Relays April 6-7 at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.