Even for what amounts to nothing more than a practice, BU men’s and women’s track and field coach Robyne Johnson has to be happy with the Terriers’ performance at the Husky Winter Track and Field Carnival this Saturday.
Several BU women finished near or at the top of the leaderboard, including 200-meter dash winner Whitney Ford. Senior Camille Hazlewood placed second in the triple jump and finished third in the 200-meter dash, while freshman Karly Neveau tied for fifth in the high jump at the Reggie Lewis Center.
The men’s squad also placed well. The 500-meter dash proved to be BU’s best event, as senior Charles Steinhauser tied for second with a time of 1:05.54. Senior Keith Buchanan followed with a fifth-place finish in 1:06.32, and sophomore Mark Mazzochette took eighth in 1:06.44.
Though encouraged by the strong performances, Johnson labeled the first event of the season a “training meet” for the teams expected to be America East powerhouses.
“We practiced the day before and lifted weights,” Johnson said. “We ran a lot of freshmen. We used this event to see how the team is doing.”
“Things were pretty much on par for the first meet of the year,” said senior Greg Daggett, who paced the Terriers in the 55-meter hurdle with a 14th-place finish.
“We showed potential for a good season once we work some of the kinks out,” he added. “We mostly finished right around where we expected for our seedings. As the season progresses, we’ll be looking to drop significantly below those times.”
With the women picked to finish first in America East and a strong cast of competitors returning on the men’s side, hope fills the Track and Tennis Center these days. While some might view preseason accolades as extra pressure, Johnson isn’t feeling the heat.
“Polls are polls,” Johnson said. “We plan to achieve those goals. We have a strong team, and we’re happy to be recognized by the rest of the league.”
The men also enter the season with lofty expectations. Having tied for second in the preseason poll, BU is looking to make a run toward the top of America East.
“Second [place] is our highest spot in recent years,” Daggett said. “We’ll be looking to prove ourselves among the highest ranks of the conference.”
Talent isn’t an issue for either Terrier squad, as both teams return some of the best overall performers in the conference. The women will ride the efforts of senior Tahari James, who is coming off her second straight Field Performer of the Year award after setting America East records in the triple jump and long jump at the 2007 conference championships.
The men’s side welcomes back senior David Proctor, who won the conference’s Track Performer of the Year award last season and nearly qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile.
Daggett stressed the importance of focusing on one meet at a time.
“We always have the end of the season in mind,” he said. “But we want to continually make strides toward the conference championship.”
“[The championship] is always important to me and the team,” Johnson said.
With the America East Championship scheduled for Feb. 22-23 at the Track and Tennis Center, Johnson hopes the home turf will translate into a pair of conference titles.
“[The TTC] is our house,” Johnson said. “This is our home.”
BU next competes in Saturday’s Harvard Invitational. The Terriers have a chance to “put up or shut up,” as Johnson says, as they continue their march toward the ultimate goal of bringing a banner – or two – back to Ashford Street.
