The Cardinals took Trinity by storm this past weekend at the Trinity College Invitational Track Tournament. In the outdoor season opener, three competitors finished first in their respective events, and another broke a decade-old school record.
“Our first outdoor meet was a great start for both the women and the men,” said Steph O’Brien ’08. “Everyone was excited to race, to get to see where they were both physically and mentally. I can’t really pick one race to highlight because there were so many good ones.”
One of the highlights of the weekend was Mike Moody’s ’10 performance in the javelin. Moody won the javelin event by throwing twelve feet further than any javelin thrower in Wesleyan history.
“It was definitely such a great start to the season to open with a win and with the school record,” Moody said. “This is the best opening meet I’ve ever had by a fair margin, and I hope that it’s foretelling of the rest of the season.”
“I’d certainly expect him to set that record many more times as he gets acclimated to college throwing,” said teammate Chris Greene ’08. “His throw on Saturday puts him at number two in the country in Division III, quite the achievement.”
Teammate Sam Grover ’08 shares a goal with Moody.
“Mike Moody is too good an athlete to be satisfied with breaking the school record,” Grover said. “I’m sure that he has set his sights on making it to the national meet, as have I.”
Moody, despite his talent, is seen as extremely modest by his teammates.
“He was national champ his senior year in high school, which I didn’t know about until last week,” said Lisa Sussman ’09. “He didn’t have much coaching in high school, so he’s pretty much self-taught.”
Along with Moody’s accomplishment, the Cardinals had an all-around successful performance at Trinity. Wesleyan had a double sweep in the men’s and women’s 10k, with Owen Kiely ’06 and Ellen Davis ’07 both coming in first place. Alex Battaglino ’07 finished right behind Kiely for the men, coming in second place.
Additionally, Grover jumped nearly six feet to win the high jump competition, and O’Brien finished second place in her event, the 800-meter run.
“The Trinity meet this past weekend was a solid opening weekend for our team,” Grover said. “The distance runners are a talented group, as always, and this year, our field event athletes are as competitive as we’ve ever been. It should be an exciting year for the track and field team. If everything goes as planned, we stand to do some real damage at nationals.”
The future of the women’s team is also bright.
“I think we have a really good shot of doing well at NESCACs, but only if people stay mentally strong and focused,” O’Brien said. “There is a lot potential in many of our runners; how they do from this point on depends on their own desire and mentality. This mental focus and physical hard work is closely related to our solidarity as a team, and I think that’s one area in which we have been improving over the course of this year. I am very proud of my teammates.”
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