Gamaliel Adejo Scores his 4th PR in four races
Gamaliel Adejo Scores his 4th PR in four races
Freshman continues to cut his 800m time down
April 13, 2024 - Columbia MD.
The weather finally gave the Cardinals T&F team some warmer temperatures, but the strong & often stiff winds played havoc on some events this past Saturday at Howard Community College. Head Coach Mark Pryor has been steadfast in his training plan to help his young athletes perform well despite the weather challenges in the first three weeks of the season. Regardless of the weather, athletes are expected to remain focused since adverse conditions are not taken into account for the results.
This past weekend, Coach Pryor was very pleased with the results and performances of three of his freshman:
Gamaliel Adejo came to CCBC Catonsville from Western Tech HS with only 1 year of T&F experience, so he is still learning and adjusting to this new environment, level of training and how to race the 800m event. Shin splints hampered Gamaliel training after the Cross-Country season as he was regulated to the pool, bicycle and other alternative training for 60 days. Coach Pryor has been careful with his training which has paid off so far. With only a modest PR in high school of 2:10 in the 800m run, Gamaliel has knocked his best time down in every race and now has a best of 2:05.37. The goal is for Gamaliel to run sub 2:00. Patience will be the key as well as his race tactics.
Freshman Jamal Portis competed for the first time this season for the Cardinals as his training has been focused on gaining strength and an increased fitness level for him to perform in the throwing events (Shot Put and Discus). Portis didn't lift weights in high school, so Coach Pryor has been slowly brining him along. That plan paid off as Portis threw a new PR of 14.30m (46ft 11in) in the Shot Put. His technique still needs a lot of work, but it is a process. Portis competed in the Discus throw but didn't record a mark since he couldn't get the angle. On the NJCAA Division-I National performance list, Jamal Portis is not ranked 16th in the Shot Put.
Last but certainly not least, Freshman Zion Adul-Wahid finally recorded his first college win with a season best time of :49.99 in the 400-meter dash. Though the wind was the against the runners on the homestretch, Abdul-Wahid ran a smart race and saved his best for the last part of the race to have energy to finish strong. He later returned to the track and helped the 4x400m relay record a 12-sec improvement and season best 3:34.96.
Official results to the Mid-Atlantic JUCO Invite can be found here: https://www.tfrrs.org/results/82407/Mid-Atlantic_Track_and_Field_Juco_Invitational
This coming weekend, the team will be local but competing in two different meets. The sprinters will be competing at the Legacy Meet at Morgan State University looking for fast times from their fast surface. The middle-distance runners and throwing event specialist will be competing at the Hopkins/Loyola Invitational at John Hopkins University which is only a mile away from the Morgan State campus.
Admission is free to the Hopkins/Loyola Invitational, so please come out and support the T&F team on Saturday, April 20th.
GO CARDINALS!!! #JUCOProduct