Led by senior Brian Sklodowski, a contingent of the Tribe teams participated in a tune-up Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational in Fairfax, Va. While Sklodowski recorded the lone qualification of the day, there were 10 personal records and a number of top 10 finishes.
“It was a very good weekend for the ones who ran,” head coach Stephen Walsh said. “People that needed a race got a race; everyone else is getting ready for this weekend.”
Sklodowski’s time of 3 minutes, 50.45 seconds in the 1,500-meter race was good for tenth place in the competition and earned him and IC4A qualification.
“For me it was just kind of a tune-up,” Sklodowski said. “This is the bulk of midseason going into championship season, so at this point you just want to stay sharp and on your toes.”
Saturday marked the second weekend in a row that Sklodowski ran the 1,500-meter race. At the Colonial Relays last weekend, he placed 19th in the event with a time of 3:53.93.
“[Qualifying] was the goal, but it’s just one of the goals along the way,” Sklodowski said. “I still have to take another three or four seconds off it, but this one builds up my confidence a little bit and definitely sets me up nice at UNC.”
Another impressive performance came from senior Dan Klatzkin, who earned silver medals in the shotput and discus. His shotput of 15 meters gave him a personal record by over four inches.
Freshman Matt Renn, meanwhile, set a pair of personal records in the discus and the hammer throw. His hammer toss of 42.82 meters topped his previous best by more than 11 feet.
Junior Matt Clark ran a career-best 15.03 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to move up to tenth in school history in the event.
“It was a huge jump for him,” Walsh said. “It was a little cold this weekend for sprinters. For him to do that in the conditions he did is good and he should jump again in North Carolina this weekend.”
On the women’s side, senior Alyssa Gaeto also left her mark in the record books in the triple jump. Her distance of 11.12 meters ties her for eighth all-time at the College.
A pair of freshmen, Anna Rose and Kayla Trantham, set personal bests in the javelin toss, throwing
30.62 meters and 28.43 meters, respectively.