JAMAICA, N.Y. - The sun thawed the cold morning at St. John's University, as Bard Track and Field took on The Big Hurt for the first outdoor meet of the season. This outing marked the beginning of Bard's outdoor road trip, five meets over five consecutive weekends leading up to the Liberty League championship at St. Lawrence.

"The bus is packed," remarked Senior Carina Cooke; it's the largest team Bard has brought to an outdoor meet in years. Bard was well matched at this meet; Head Coach Brody Smith remarked that "Today is good practice for what we'll be seeing during the season." 

The moment Bard filed off the bus, Johnny Henriquez and Olamipo Ogunleye were off to warm up, both preparing to hit the sand in the long jump. Henriquez ended up at 4.74m from his second jump, and Ogunleye fouled out. Henriquez also did the high jump, fouling out his first three tries over the mark. 

Rounding out the field events, Eanna Hauck captured another school record, throwing 9.54m in the shot put, and getting third overall. Lismery Guzman-Cruz, McKenna Reeves, and Henriquez also threw shot, Reeves for the first time. Reeves' debut saw her second throw go 7.72m, and Guzman-Cruz threw 6.80m on her third try. It's a personal best for both of them, and a strong start to the season. Henriquez ended up at 7.84m after three throws, finishing out his field events.

First to touch the track was Bo Hopwood and Calvin Thomas, finally raced the steeplechase after many months of specialized preparation. The two thousand meter steeplechase was only the second running event of the day, but the freezing pool of the water barrier shook them awake. Hopwood crossed the line first in 7:24.01, a new school record, and Thomas followed close behind at 7:25.63. The two will race steeplechase at the remainder of the outdoor meets, building off the experience gained from their first tries here. 

James Washington, Henriquez, Andrii Roienko, and Ogunleye all raced the 100m dash separately; they came through the line at 12.62s, 12.72s, 13.40s, and 13.45s, respectively. On the women's side, Parchment, Acton, Sharaban, and first-timer Hisani Rice ran their individual 100m dashes as well; 13.68s, 14.41s, 15.46s, and 16.14s in the order listed. Washington's track debut continued with a 400m effort, he placed 7th overall at 56.22s, and Henriquez finding 10th place at 58.67s. Henriquez competed in a monstrous five events over roughly three hours, something he'll have to get used to if he continues with the decathlon later into the season. 

Continuing the sprints in the women's 400m was Cooke, Sharaban, and Ava Gregory (usually throwing javelin, not offered at this meet). Cooke finished in 1:02.38, Gregory in 1:07.03, and Sharaban in 1:11.81, representing fifth, ninth, and thirteenth. It was a busy day for all sprinters; Cooke, Acton, Gregory, and Sharaban all ran the 200m as well, pushing through the finish at 28.76s, 29.89s, 30.14s, and 31.68s each. James Washington returned for a 200m, as did Roienko, Ogunleye, and Kai Washington. The former Washington clinched a ninth place finish in 24.48s, with Roienko, Ogunleye, and the latter Washington, blazing past in 26.41s, 27.36s, and 28.25s respectively. 

Elijah Flynn moved from the mile to the 1500m, and his effort today earned him a hard-fought 4:19.25 – fourth fastest in program history. Sitting in third for half of the race, he made his decisive move toward the front at 700m, sitting on first place's back until the kick, finishing out in second place overall. Freya Jones and Alex Laskowski raced their 1500 together, Jones pushed up four spots over the duration, ending up in third overall with 5:26.15. She had this to say about her effort: "The pacing was very strange, but I feel like I made the best of it." Laskowski, coming off a month of not being able to run due to injury, crossed the line at 6:08.79, roughly her mile converted personal best. She looks forward to being able to regularly train again; "I think that throughout the whole race I was a little bit frustrated because I could sense how much fitness I'd lost, … but I'm pretty happy with how I did."

The Bard team got a boost midway through the day when indoor track breakout star Anna Shtandenko visited her teammates. Shtandenko, owner of the program indoor 600 and mile records, is completing a semester at Bard NYC. She will be rejoining the team next semester.

Bard's distance team swept the 3000m, taking a commanding first, second, and third, leading the race from gun to tape. Hopwood, Thomas, and Charlie Grenadier went for gold, silver, and bronze in a well-paced, bunched up effort. Hopwood's 10:18.26 is a strong mark for the beginning of the outdoor season; he'll be chasing his personal best of 10:15 in his final few collegiate races. Thomas and Grenadier paced together, with Thomas taking the lead—and not relinquishing—with 250m to go, bringing in a personal best 10:25.24, with Grenadier close behind at a personal best 10:28.58.

In the middle of the event: the middle distance; 800m ran by Jones, Kai Roper, Chloe Desautels, and Emma St. Peter. Jones pushed through the line at 2:43.24, good for a sixth overall finish, while Roper, Desautels, and St. Peter bunched up at eighth, ninth, and tenth, in 2:49.19, 2:52.4, and 2:56.17. 

Bard ran a number of relay races, beginning with a stacked 4x100m team, consisting of veterans Carina Cooke, Gabrielle Parchment, alongside newcomers Loie Acton and Alina Sharaban. The team came in second overall, clocking a 53.37s cumulative time, missing the school record by a narrow 0.12s. Flynn, Hopwood, Grenadier, and Thomas returned for a traditional distance runner's 4x400m. They ended at 4:06.00, a grueling effort from the 3k runners specifically, who were barely 20 minutes removed from their race. The women's 4x400m, consisting of Acton, Gregory, St. Peter, and Roper, ran a focused race, mixing in with the rest of the field to finish at 4:46.53. 

The Big Hurt proved to be worthy competition for Bard Track and Field, with most athletes finding themselves in top ten positions. There is a light atmosphere following the team, now let into the open air of Outdoor Track and Field. Bolstered by two new school records, and a host of debut runners and throwers making their marks, the team is picking up some mid-season momentum. Bard returns next weekend, in New London, Connecticut, for the CGA Spring Invite. 

Men
Long Jump
Johnny Henriquez 4.74m (15-6 ½) 

Shot Put 
Johnny Henriquez 7.83m (25-8 ¾ ) 

2000m Steeplechase
3. Bo Hopwood 7:24.01
Calvin Thomas 7:25.63

100m
James Washington 12.62
Johnny Henriquez 12.72
Andrii Roienko 13.40
Ola Olamipo 13.45

200m
James Washington 24.48
Andrii Roienko 26.41
Ola Olamipo 27.36
Kai Washington 28.25

400m
7. James Washington 56.222
Johnny Henriquez 58.67

1500m
2. Elijah Flynn 4:19.25

3K
1. Bo Hopwood 10:18.26
2. Calvin Thomas 10:25.24
3. Charlie Grenadier 10:28.58

4x400 Relay
Hopwood, Grenadier, Thomas, Flynn 4:06.00

Women
Shot Put 
3. Eanna Hauck 9.54m (31-3 ½) SR
7. McKenna Reeves 7.72m (25-4) 
LIsmery Guzman-Cruz 6.80m (22-3 ¾)

4x100
2. Cooke, Acton, Sharaban, Parchment 53.37

100m
Gabrielle Parchment 13.68
Loie Acton 14.41
Alina Sharaban 15.99
Hisani Rice 16.15

200m
Carina Cooke 28.76
Loie Acton 29.89
Ava Gregory 30.14
Alina Sharaban 31.68

400m
5. Carina Cooke 1:02.38
Ava Gregory 1:07.03
Alina Sharaban 1:11.81

800m
6. Freya Jones 2:43.24
8. Kai Roper 2:49.19
Chloe Desautels 2:52.47
Emma St. Peter 2:56.17

1500m
4. Freya Jones 5:26.15
Alex Laskowski 6:08.79

4x400 Relay 
Acton, Gregory, St. Peter, Roper 4:46.53