Cardinals T&F Continues to Work Hard Despite Cold & Strong Winds
TOWSON, Md. (Mar. 24, 2019) -- On Saturday, the CCBC Catonsville T&F team traveled up 695 to Towson on the campus of Goucher College to compete at the Goucher T&F Classic. 20 teams competed from New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland despite the frigid temperatures of 39 degrees. The day finally warmed up to 50 degrees but by then the track meet was concluding.
Coach Pryor encouraged his athletes to persevere through the cold so that they could gauge where their fitness level is and in what direction training needs to go. That's exactly what everyone did. Other than a few runny noses, Coach Pryor reported no injuries so it was another step in the right direction.
Sophomore Steven Joseph was busy sprinting and jumping in his first meet of the year. Joseph was sick last weekend and missed the Maryland Invitational. On Saturday he competed in the 100m and 200m dash as well as the long jump. The 100m dash was anti-climatic as Joseph slipped out of the blocks. Undaunted, he ran :11.72 with a 4.8 wind to place 11th in the preliminary rounds. He then went to the long jump pit and recorded a mark of 16ft 10in. Returning to the track, Joseph won his heat of the 200m dash with a time of :24.57 which was good for 6th place overall out of 22 competitors. All of those marks hampered by the cold weather.
Da'Lon Harris was ready to compete despite the cold but greener pastures and warmer weather are ahead. Coach Pryor instructed the young freshman to run hard for just 350m so that his training could be evaluated. Harris was glad to get the run in but can't wait for the weather to warm up so he can sprint without the fear of injury.
Johnny Miango competed in both the long and triple jumps. The triple jump was difficult in the cold weather but he still recorded a mark of 36ft-5in 3/4 for 9th place. It was an improvement after he was unable to get a mark last weekend. In the long jump, Miango's approach was hampered by the strong winds but he did record a best jump of 17ft 3/4.
Coach Pryor is confident that the marks recorded early in the season will improve when Mother Nature blesses him with warm weather so his athletes can focus on competing and not on the adverse conditions.
That day may well come on March 30th in Richmond Va. at the Fred Harvey Invitational at the Univ of Richmond. That's the next scheduled competition for the Cardinal T&F team.
Full results can be found at:
https://athletics.goucher.edu/sports/wtrack-out/2018-19/files/T-FResults.pdf