After a showing not up to par at the Little East Indoor Championships, coach Jay Condon described unfinished business to his team as they transitioned to the outdoor season. 

“We did not perform the way we wanted to at the indoor championships. We have the attitude that we have some unfinished business to take care of during outdoors,” Condon said. 

The track and field team placed 6th with a total of 34 team points at the indoor championships. 

With the poor showing, the team has used that as motivation with numerous program records being broken by Spartan runners, jumpers, and throwers. 

At the Saints Spring Breaker open back on March 26, Jaquincy Bostick broke the triple jump record that had stood since 1971, Trevor Rose broke the discus mark, Harrison Leombruno-Nicholson threw a program best 56.83 meters in Javelin, and David Harvey hurdled his way to breaking the program record in the 110-meter hurdles.

That performance from the men’s side garnered Leombruno-Nicholson with Little East Conference (LEC) rookie of the week along with a team award of breaking the top-10 in U.S Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional ranking. 

“That was an awesome honor for the men’s team. They deserved it with how they have been performing,” Condon said. 

Records continued to be broken the very next weekend with Harvey breaking the 400-meter hurdle record and Rose throwing a program best 13.45-meter shotput. 

When asked what can the success of the young team be attributed too, Condon first cited recruiting. 

“The assistant coaches along with myself are making the right connections in the nearby high schools and getting some quality people,” Condon explained. 

Condon says he doesn’t focus on the competition as the top priority but on developing the people in the program to become the best they can. 

A saying the team lives by, which is displayed in front of Condon’s door, is “Better people, Better Spartans,” which really speaks to the goal of developing people not athletes. 

On the women’s side, performances have been nothing short of exciting with multiple victories and some program records. 

Shay Lawrence broke the outdoor 200-meter record this past weekend with a time 27.85 seconds. She now holds both the indoor and outdoor 200-meter crowns.

Maizy Mooney broke her own 100-meter dash record also this weekend with a time of 12.90 seconds.

There have been other top finishes including Gwyn Tatton qualifying for the regional championships in javelin. 

Even though the team is young, Condon believes on both the men’s and women’s side that the relationships that have formed have really instilled a good team culture. 

“I believe that relationship building one of the most important things when it comes to be successful as a team,” said Condon. “Everyone knows something personal about each other on the team and it is cool to see.”  

As the outdoor season continues, the team looks to have a better showing at the LEC championships with their point total improving from both last year and the indoor meet. 

“I’m excited to get to compete and improve on the indoor season to put Castleton on the map in the Little East Conference,” Condon said. 

The track and field team competes at Williams College this coming Saturday with the LEC championships approaching the following weekend on April 30 in Dartmouth, Mass.