By Niclas Bez
The Saint Leo University’s Track team prepared to start off their Spring season on Feb. 18 in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Track program is an official part of the Saint Leo athletics department since 2014, which makes them the youngest program on campus.
Even though the program is the newest addition there have already been major successes with athletes qualifying for the National Championship and scoring major results for the University. On the men’s side, Herns Agyemang was the first male athlete to qualify for the National Meet in 2015, where he earned 13th place. On the women’s side, Colett Rampf qualified twice already in the 3000 meter steeplechase, where she earned her first All-American award in 2016 with a 5th place. In addition to that, there have been more runners that were able to run B-Provisional standards, but did not make the cut to attend the National Meet.
In the 2017 season, multiple Lions have the ability to qualify for the Championship in different events. One of the hopefuls is Rafal Matuszczak, who previously ran national standards on the track and just earned his first cross country All-American award in Fall of 2016.
“I believe this could possibly be the most successful season we have had in program history. I’m expecting a lot of good races from all of our men. It was exciting to see that everyone came back in shape and has been up for every challenge we have put in front of them these first few weeks. I believe that we have a chance to send multiple athletes to nationals this season. We have sent one male runner to nationals in the past but I believe we will see some more Lions at nationals in May right here in Florida,” said Coach Connor Callahan, who is the men’s assistant track and cross country coach.
Another hopeful is Ronald Cheserek. The Cross Country Conference champion and conference runner of the year will focus on the mid-distance events, where he hopes to earn the top 16 in the country that is required to go to the National meet.
“The women’s team is looking better each workout. I have already seen improvements coming off of the break the past two weeks. I think by the time they start racing and especially by mid-season they will be in good shape, as long as we can keep them healthy,” said Women’s Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach Katie Henriksen.
The focus on the women’s side will remain on Rampf, who owns many school records on the track and in cross country. Rampf earned Cross Country and Track All-American honors and has been constantly improving over the last few years.
“I am expecting a standout performance from Lauren Csubak. If she stays on the track she is on after coming off of her huge improvements in cross country and I think she will really rock the 800 meter this track season! If Alyssa Bayliff can stay healthy I would expect to see an awesome 5 kilometer performance from her, and I also expect Laura Tobin to run an impressive 10 kilometer,” Henriksen continued.
Both, the men’s and the women’s team seem to be very optimistic about their upcoming track season. The athletes are prepared to put in the work and represent Saint Leo University in Florida and all across the country. Since there is no track on the Saint Leo campus the closest location where the Lions can be seen are at USF and the University of Tampa.
“I think the overall goal of this track season is to improve our mentality. Specifically, I think the goal is to develop more mental toughness and be able to develop not just physically. To do so the team needs to maintain a positive attitude, and work on their overall toughness,” Henriksen added.
The Lions also plan on travelling to big national meets, where they will be able to compare themselves to some of the best athletes in the country from Division I and II. These big meets, however, require fast times to qualify, which forces the athletes to start out their season with some fast times.
“Some of the big meets we are looking forward to this season are races at USF, Raleigh Relays at NC State, and Mt. Sac or Azusa Pacific in California. All of these meets will give our athletes the chance to compete against great competition throughout the country,” said Callahan.
The Lions Pride Newspaper will keep you updated on the journey of the Lions Track Team on their quest for national qualifying standards.
