Rochester, N.Y. - Bard's track and field team was manifesting dreams on the second day of Indoor Liberty Leagues, each individual and team striding toward the bright, rising future. Gordon Field House is in uproar over every race. All but five from Bard have finished competing for the weekend. All that remains is three races, nestled together in the late afternoon.
Senior Chloe Desautels is in poised anticipation: "It's been a long time since I got nine hours of sleep. I'm well rested. My first-year indoor conference was at RIT—it's a full circle moment … for me." This is not just a day of recurrence for the fresh-faced track and field team; they have the chance to prove that, under Coach Brody Smith's leadership, they are defying expectations, becoming true competitors in the Liberty League.
Carina Cooke returns for two more races on the final day, first lining up in the fourth heat for a dazzling 200 meter dash. Only 0.09 seconds away from the school record, she turns toward the outdoor sprints. She's got a little more than an hour until the 4x400m, and has her mind set on a competitive day.
Calvin Thomas went out with the group in the 3000m, but his goal was never to stay with them. Eyes set on the clock, he mechanically turned out forty second laps until he couldn't, sticking to the gameplan set by Coach Brody. Rewarded with a new personal best of 10:29.56, Thomas walks away satisfied from the four second drop, though hungry to run a truly competitive race. He will take a much-needed down week, backing off from his usual seventy-mile weeks.
It wasn't apparent until Cooke, Desautels, Loie Acton, and Kai Roper lined up for the women's 4x400m relay, but there was magic in the air today. It materialized in two personal bests, Acton dropping five seconds, Roper cutting three seconds, and Desautels finding a season best by two seconds. They combined to drop ten seconds from the West Point outing, a mark none of them expected, barely dreamt of. Cooke showed remarkable consistency over the weekend, leading out the first leg as her fourth total race in two days, still muscling to a 1:03.82. Desautels kept Bard in the race, replicating her first-year pace, bringing the baton to Acton at 2:14.57, 1:10.08
individually. Acton left it all on the polyurethane; something clicked after her first 400m at West Point, and conversations with Coach Brody and teammates created an unprecedented personal best, putting Bard within striking distance of Union. Roper finished the job, passing Union's anchor leg in an "exhilarating" kick halfway through, never looking back. Bard came through in a historic 4:32.23, breaking the monumental record set by Madeline Chilton, Claire Dickson, Hawra Moochhala, Rachael Yoder. They stand triumphantly on the podium, occupying the seventh spot, and represent the most points scored by Bard over the weekend.
"This is the first step toward success for Bard," says Coach Brody, looking wistfully on, at the magical performance, and to the future he is building.
The start of outdoor season is Coach Brody's first full year as Head Coach, and this outing officially marks his one year anniversary with Bard. It is the final season of veteran seniors such as Bo Hopwood, Carina Cooke, and Chloe Desautels. Outdoor season starts on March 28th, at the Utica Almost Spring Invitational.
Men
3K
Calvin Thomas 10:29.56 PR
Women
200m
Carina Cooke 28.20
4x400
Cooke, Desautels, Acton, Roper 4:32.23 School Record
