EWING, NEW JERSEY - The cloudless sky over The College of New Jersey warmly greets Bard Track and Field. On the athletes: "Over the season, you've been seeing the effort people have been putting in, and it's paying off," from Assistant Coach Emma Pile.

This meet is a continuation of Bard's momentum, with the usual set of personal bests and school records that we have come to expect. From Head Coach Brody Smith: "We've made incredible progress this year. It's not just the times that improve, it's the way we compete, the way we handle ourselves in races. It's evident in heat race wins, PRs; there's a confidence we didn't use to have, and it's really encouraging to see." Maintaining poise into the end of the season is critical, as Bard prepares its first seriously varied and competitive Liberty League effort in years.

The day began with a blazing fast 4x100m, composed of Avery Crafton, Ola Ogunleye, Andrii Roienko, and James Washington. Through shaky handoffs, which the team promised themselves to improve on, Bard comes through in 47.07, coming closer to the school record. "Makes me feel really good about our 4x1 team, we're just a lot faster, there's a lot to work out, which means the sky's the limit. That means handoffs, that means trusting your teammates more, not looking back, not losing that millisecond," said Crafton, in firm belief that, this season, the team will take the school record.

Freya Jones and Elijah Flynn ran parallel 1500m efforts: both took a passive position through the first lap, then moved into first place when the leading group's pace became unsatisfying. For Jones, the gamble paid off; she took first in her heat by nearly fifty meters, and claimed a personal best 5:20.17. Though it visually resembled her other 1500 efforts, she remarked on the difference of this race: "[It was] exciting to have a race that was that logistical, I got boxed in twice, but it was kinda nice; instead of being tired, I was just worried about how to pass people." Flynn led valiantly through 1200, but got out-kicked. Flynn set a new school record and a personal best by three seconds: 4:10.39 is good for tenth overall, and tantalizingly close to the Liberty League qualifying mark of 4:07.00.

Other Bard competitors in the 1500 include Charlie Grenadier, Chloe Desautels, Adeline Kruk, and Alex Laskowski. Desautels and Kruk both ran personal bests, in 5:43.25 and 5:54.86 respectively. Laskowski, still recovering from injury, finished in 6:02.65.

There is a lot of progress to be made for Laskowski, who has felt perpetually excluded from competition due to never-ending knee injuries, which are only now clearing up. Grenadier had a similar effort to Laskowski, finding himself without people to run with, and finished his first ever 1500m race in a solid 4:50.44.

Loie Acton, Hisani Rice, and Andrii Roienko, propelled by a meter per second of wind, had strong competition in the 100m dash. All three ran personal bests: Roienko in 12.92, Acton in 14.02, and Rice matched with a 15.42. Avery Crafton and Olamipo Ogunleye also ran in the 100m, Crafton finishing in 12.05, and Ogunleye in 13.11. Crafton remarked on the high energy and other factors of the day that contributed to his solid returning performance: "I've been injured; lots of days off, meet was really well run, everyone was in good spirits."

Carina Cooke competed in the 400m, coming in with a renewed presence of mind that earned a personal best 1:01.70. She shared this winning strategy later: "I was being nicer to myself mentally, had a better strategy today: focus on the process, not the final result, on what I can control." James Washington and Kariuki Massio also ran highly successful 400s, with Washington cutting down three seconds for 53.25; the time placed fifth in program history. He cites a new focus, thinking about who he was running for during the race allowed him to lock in his form for longer. Massio's debut open race for Bard ended up at 56.35, setting him up well for his following three years in Track and Field. The team is happy to see Massio in full competition form.

Ava Gregory, Washington, Crafton, Roienko, Ogunleye, Cooke, Acton, and Rice sprinted through the 200m. The women's team rewrites the record books: Cooke's personal best 27.29 puts her second in program history, Gregory's 28.79 lands her at fourth, and Acton's 28.84 is good for fifth. Rice made a strong effort with 33.68; she only continues to improve in the sprints,and is noticeably finding her poise every race, being nearly unrecognizable from the beginning of the season. Washington came through 200 in 23.76, sixth in program history, while Crafton claimed a 25.51, Roienko a personal best 26.06, and Ogunleye a 26.73, also a personal record.

Cooke had again revised her strategy going into this race: "I told myself I had two goals in mind: keep my head down longer through my start, and sustain my form until the last curve, around the last curve in the four, hug the curve and push, have a really strong last hundred." She won all her heats today, no doubt due to her new mental poise. Gregory is still making adjustments to her game, saying "Feel like I had more to give. This heat pushed me more, but I'm still trying to find something. If you think you're running hard enough, run harder."

The 800 meter was the most populated event of the day: Kai Roper, Emma St. Peter, Calvin Thomas, Bo Hopwood, Jones, Desautels, Kruk, Flynn, Massio, and Grenadier all lined up at some point to compete over two laps. Roper ran a dominant 2:41.42, taking her first lap out in a blazing 1:16.15, then fighting to the finish for fourth in Bard Track and Field history. She commented on her performance: "I passed three on the first lap, and on the second lap, I'm saying: it's only an 800!" Jones followed in 2:45.09, then Desautels in a season-best 2:50.49, St. Peter in 2:54.48, and Kruk in 3:04.02. 

On the men's side, all athletes were in the same heat except Flynn, who split an even 2:07.89, consisting of a 1:04.46 first lap, and a 1:03.43 close. Massio led out the heat, and maintained the lead into the finish, rewarded with a 2:10.85. Thomas, passing four athletes to come in second for the heat, ran a personal best 2:11.73. "I've been not getting complacent, believing in myself, the recurring echo of "I can do this," has really changed the tide for me recently," remarks Thomas. Hopwood and Grenadier finished in 2:18.54 and 2:22.71 respectively, a season best for Hopwood, and a strong effort from Grenadier, considering his stacked fatigue from the 1500.

On the field, Ogunleye and Roper attempted the long jump, coached by the injured Johnny Henriquez. Ogunleye got out to 4.66m on his second jump, and Roper fouled out. Ogunleye is optimistic about his future in the event, saying "I was really nervous on the long jump, because I was having issues with my penultimate step. I got to talk to Johnny, and that helped, but I was already thrown off. I feel like with more practice, I can jump to the extent that my fitness allows." Roper also attests to Henriquez's support: "Johnny was a very good coach,he gave constructive criticism. Told me what I needed to do better, the main thing was: jump!" The difficulty for her was synthesizing her practice; Roper had never attempted a full long jump before, in competition or otherwise.

The day concluded with the 4x400m relays: Bard had entries for both men's and women's. The men finished in 3:48.57, led out by Flynn, who passed to Aiden Trapp, the pair closing in 1:56.57. Massio took the baton next, finding Washington at 2:54.71. Washington took the team home in 3:48.57, each leg pushing through the day's exhaustion, into a satisfying conclusion. Washington repeated his 400m, running the anchor leg in 53.86 seconds, later saying "I felt like my form was really good, but there was something about being so far in the back, so it felt like it had no stakes, so I could run really relaxed, which helped me run fast." The women's team came through in 4:33.45, just three seconds from the school record. Cooke and Gregory started the team off in 2:11.14, St Peter bringing her third leg through at a cumulative 3:24.45, and Acton closing in 1:09.00.

Bard returns next weekend, April 18th, in Albany, New York for the University of Albany Invitational. 

100m prelim
Avery Crafton 12.05
Andrii Roienko 12.92 PB
Ola Ogunleye 13.11

200m
James Washington 23.76
Avery Crafton 25.51
Andrii Roienko 26.06 PB
Ola Ogunleye 26.73 PB

400m
James Washington 53.25 PB
Kariuki Massio 56.35 

800m
Elijah Flynn 2:07.89 PB
Kariuki Massio 2:10.85
Calvin Thomas 2:11.73 PB
Bo Hopwood 2:18.54 SB
Charlie Grenadier 2:22.71 

1500m
Elijah Flynn 4:10.39 PB 
Charlie Grenadier 4:50.44 

4x100
Crafton, Ogunleye, Roienko, Washington 47.07 SB 

4x400 
Massio, Washington, Trapp, Flynn 3:48.57

Long Jump 
Ola Ogunleye 4.66m (15-3 ½)  

100m prelim
Loie Acton 14.02 PB
Hisani Rice 15.42 PB

200m
Carina Cooke 27.29
Ava Gregory 28.79
Loie Acton 28.84
Hisani Rice 33.68

400m
Carina Cooke 1:01.70 PB

800m 
Kai Roper 2:41.42 PB
Freya Jones 2:45.09
Chloe Desautels 2:50.49 SB
Emma St. Peter 2:54.48 
Adeline Kruk 3:04.02


1500m
Freya Jones 5:20.17 PB
Chloe Desautels 5:43.25 PB
Adeline Kruk 5:54.86 PB
Alex Laskowski 6:02.65 PB


4x400m
Cooke, Gregory, Acton, Roper 4:33.45