Nationals!
Another year, another great group of Johnnies finishing their season at the NCAA National Championships. This group is best characterized as classic hard-working, motivated, student-athletes. However, that is where the similarities end. They come from all different backgrounds, levels of success, and may not have participated in track before coming to SJU.
Kevin Arthur (SR, Champlin Park): a lot has been written about Kevin and his time at SJU. Coming from Ghana, Italy, and then to Minnesota, Kevin has made a tremendous impact on our team and me as a coach. We have utilized Kevin’s Covid eligibility and I’ve learned a lot about coaching someone this long. I am most impressed with his ability to stay focused and he continues to improve. Kevin was not a highly recruited athlete and focused more on soccer. His high school personal records of 11.36 in the 100 and 22.90 in the 200 have been shattered: 10.19 in the 100 and 20.68 in the 200. Kevin will compete in the following events this week:
100: prelims at 2:30 on Friday (finals 1:30pm on Saturday)
200: prelims at 5:40pm Thursday (finals 2:40pm on Saturday)
4x100: prelims at 4:15pm Thursday (finals 12:05pm (Saturday)
Max Lelwica (SR, Brainerd): Max is another athlete who has made significant improvement. With him and teammate Anthony Thurk (SR, Waconia), they have helped develop a foundation of decathletes at SJU. Max has been a tremendous leader on the team and set an example of what athletes can accomplish throughout college.
Decathlon: Thursday start time of 10:30am
Decathlon: Friday start time of 9am
Jackson McDowell (SR, Arapahoe, CO): while I will say we got lucky with Jackson quitting baseball and joining the track team, it is also a testament to guys enjoying their experience with track and field and encouraging others to try it out. Jackson was willing to try something new and be with his friends after a long time in baseball. We have all been rewarded with some big performances and an amazing school record of 7 feet in high jump.
High jump: 1:00pm Friday
Max Reis (FY, Spectrum): Max had a successful high school career and was state champion in the 100 and 200 for Spectrum. After taking some time off to work, Max has made a big impact on our team in a short time. He tied the indoor school record in the 60 meter dash (6.78) and broke the outdoor school record in the long jump (24-0.75).
Long Jump: 1:30pm Thursday
100: prelims at 2:30 on Friday (finals 1:30pm on Saturday)
4x100: prelims at 4:15pm Thursday (finals 12:05pm (Saturday)
The 4x100: rounding out the 4x100 are four guys (two alternates) who have combined for school records, conference championships, and conference records. We have run different combinations of runners the last two years and these guys have unselfishly been willing to help the team. They also have come from different experience levels:
Kieran Murnan (SO, Holy Angels): placed at the state meet in high school. Ran a personal record 10.74 in the 100 at the conference meet after coming off a hamstring injury. He didn’t run the 4x100 at the conference meet.
Emanual Popoca (SR, Bloomington): Another runner with big improvements at SJU. He went from running 11.71 and 24.17 in high school to 11.03 and 22.47.
Aidan Morey (JR, Omaha, NE) A life-long soccer player, Aidan found his way to track and has been an important part of the sprints squad. He was the leadoff leg at Drake and helped set the school record.
Matt Hansen (SO, Niwot CO): Why not round out the squad with another guy who didn’t do track in high school. He is the kicker on the football team and had fun at a track camp during his freshman year. We are still figuring out Matt’s best event since he has done well in everything we have thrown him in.
Take some time out of the workday to follow along here:
Thanks,
Jeremy