Track and Field shows out

Bronwen Hopwood soars her way to a fourth place finish at Plymouth State's Panthers invitational. Photo Courtesy of CastletonSports.com

Castleton Track and Field has been performing through the roof as of late. Seven different athletes on the team have shattered eight school records so far this season.

The athletes who have broken records in women’s track and field are senior Bronwen Hopwood in the 400-meter dash and the long jump, junior Emily Maier in the 60-meter hurdles, and sophomore Lydia Maier in the 500-meter dash.

The record-breakers in the men’s program are senior Tayler Larmie in the weight throw, senior Ryan Barry in the 60-meter sprint, freshman Dakota Garrow in the 500-meter dash, and freshman Trevor Rose in shot put. Freshman Justin Perretta also set records in the mile-run and the 3000-meter being the first to run it in the program.

Head Coach Jay Condon, who is in his first year heading up the track and field program, spoke highly of his team’s success this winter.

“This is very odd for me because school records don’t get broken like you’re drinking water. This is my fifteenth year as a track coach and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Condon said.

He also discussed how the athletes have bought into his new approach.

“They’re understanding and they’re growing into our culture. They’re starting to understand what we’re expecting of them,” he said. “It’s about culture. It’s about the team.”

All of the record-breakers mentioned this new culture when talking about their success. Condon has established a team-oriented approach, which seems to be favored by the team.

Emily Maier, who broke the record in the 60-meter hurdle with a time of 10.64 seconds, talked about how this new culture has benefited the athletes.

“It gives us the confidence that I think we were lacking in past years,” she said. “Bringing the team together builds confidence while you’re competing.”

Tayler Larmie, who broke the Castleton record in the weight throw with a distance of 14.53 meters, built on how the team-oriented approach is working.

“Everyone’s just like one big happy family. There’s nobody just sitting on the sidelines by their lonesome self like there used to be. If we’re not doing our event, we’re there supporting someone else in their event,” Larmie said.

In addition to the culture change, Ryan Barry, who now holds the Castleton record in the 60-meter sprint with a time of 7.27 seconds, talked about how Condon has high expectations for his athletes.

“Personally, he’s pushed me harder than I have been in years past, and I know that everyone else feels the same way,” Barry said.

And as many of these records are being broken, Castleton track and field athletes can see their name etched into the Castleton history books. Some are seniors who are leaving their mark, while others are freshmen just getting started.

Bronwen Hopwood, who is in her first year running track, talked about what it means to her to have a school record.

“I’ve always been super competitive, so it’s pretty much a gold star to leave my name somewhere and say that I did something,” she said.

Dakota Garrow, who is a freshman, is excited to continue adding to his successes.

“It was nice to actually have my name on a piece of paper that says I accomplished this, so I think that’s pretty great,” Garrow said. “That’s kind of why I wanted to run the 3000 and the mile, so I could put another name on the board,” he added with a laugh.

The young program is thriving. As many records have been set so far, it will be exciting to see how this program continues to grow under Condon’s new culture.

“This is a very extraordinary thing we’ve got going on here,” Condon said.

Tayler Larmie breaks the Castleton Record for the weight throw with a toss of 14.53 meters. 

 

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