A select few members of the Boston University track team braved the cold weather on Saturday to run in the team’s first outdoor meet of the season, Northeastern University’s Snowflake Classic.
BU sent 14 athletes to the event, comprised mostly of throwers and distance runners.
“The throwers went so they could finally compete in their events,” said BU coach Robyne Johnson. “During the indoor season they never get the chance to compete. The runners that went just wanted to run against some America East competition, to get better prepared for the season.”
Johnson acknowledged that the cold weather was not good for some of the athletes.
“Cold weather just isn’t conducive to sprinting,” she said. “That’s when a lot of injuries happen.”
Weather, the biggest difference between indoor and outdoor track, plays a huge role in the sport.
“It’s easier to run outside when the weather is in the 50s and 60s,” Johnson said. “This weekend it should hopefully be better, as we have some of our distance runners going to the Stanford Invitational, a huge meet. Plus, the rest of the team is going to be competing at Tufts University.”
But Johnson also noted another difference between the indoor and outdoor seasons.
“In indoor, the track is only 200 meters,” she said. “But in outdoor, the track is 400 meters. This makes it easier to run outside, since there aren’t as many turns. But that’s only if the weather is alright.”
Even with only 14 participants at the cold meet, BU was still able to place in many events.
On the women’s side, freshman Katie Weider finished fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01.59. Fellow freshman Julia Broome placed 11th in the hammer throw with a distance of 33.94 meters.
Also placing was senior Erica Shea, who finished 15th in the 400 meter with a time of 1:03.93 and sophomore Jackie Ward, who finished 16th in the javelin throw with a distance of 29.10 meters.
For the men, Nick Goodman provided BU’s biggest highlight of the meet, winning first place for the Terriers in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:03.55. Johnson was pleased with the junior’s performance.
“He ran competitive,” said Johnson, “just like we were expecting him too.”
Other top finishes for the men included freshman Andrew Jones (19th) and freshman David Barth’s (21st) in the 200 meter with times of 25.05 and 25.15, respectively. Freshman Joseph Pike finished 10th while sophomore Andrew Beatman placed 16th in the javelin with throws of 49.12 and 46.92 meters, and Tom McLean snared 16th place in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:21.31.
Overall, Johnson was pleased with the limited performance of the Terriers and is anticipating the rest of the season.
“I’m looking forward to the outdoor season and for the team to be competitive like we were during the indoor season.”