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Contributed photo by Matt Hart
Sophomore Jr. Velasquez makes his winning throw at the Linfield Icebreaker Saturday. Velasquez won with a throw of 14.63 meters and finished 11th in discus with a throw of 36.85 meters.
Sophomore class looks to lead track and field at Saints Open
The Advocate
The MHCC track and field athletes started their season with a Red, White and Black intersquad meet Feb. 26 and competed against other colleges for the first time Saturday at the Linfield Icebreaker at Linfield College.
“We really didn’t put a lot of emphasis on the intersquad meet. It was more of a training day for us. The Linfield meet was our first true test in term of really competing,” said track and field head coach Matt Hart.
MHCC freshman Chris Zeller came in sixth at the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.32 and came in fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.68.
“We are excited to have Chris Zeller on our team this year, Hart said. “He has a great work ethic and is extremely open-minded and coachable. I am also excited about several of our other freshmen who are on the same level as Zeller.”
The track and field team also has some returning athletes, including Jr. Velasquez who placed first in shot put at the Linfield Icebreaker with a final distance of 14.65 meters and came in 11th in discus with a distance of 36.85 meters.
“We love having Jr. on our team. He works hard, has great talent and is such a positive person. Everybody likes being around him,” said Hart. “He is the returning NWAACC champion in the shot put. He has been working hard at continuing to mature as a thrower so he can better his marks from last year. It is just a matter of time before he gets a hold of a throw and blows up his PR.”
Several of MHCC’s track and field records were set in the 1980s but Hart said, “I can see two immediate MHCC records getting broken this year. I can also see a couple of other records being approached but it is too early to solidify this. Which ones you ask? Well, I’ll let the scoreboard answer this question.”
The women’s team also competed on a very high level during the Linfield Icebreaker. The 400-meter dash ended with sophomore Anaiah Rhodes and freshman Tashianna Bryant in top positions, third and sixth respectively. Rhodes ended with a time of 1:02.56 and Bryant with a time of 1:05.02.
“Anaiah and Tashianna have developed a pretty good friendship already this year which will be fun to watch as they compete against each other this season. Both are loaded with talent and we will see how they do against other competitors as well as each other,” said Hart.
Another strong sophomore returning to the team is Kelsey Strot, who placed first in shot put with a distance of 11.48 meters and third in discus with a distance of 35.09 meters.
“Strot did very well last year and I anticipate she will do even better this year. She did well at the Linfield meet and I can see her improving from meet to meet. She will throw big this year,” said Hart. “All in all, our freshmen and sophomore athletes were able to compete well against all the other schools including the juniors and seniors at the four-year schools.”
This Saturday MHCC will host the Saints Open and Hart said, “Unfortunately, the weather forecast does not look great for our first home meet. Cold and wet conditions do not help the marks but I expect good competition regardless of the conditions.”
Over spring break the athletes will compete at the Oregon Preview in Eugene on March 20 and the Linfield Decathlon on March 22 and 23. Hart said, “We will be taking only one or two athletes to the Linfield Decathlon meet in mid-March but the rest of our team will be training through spring break.”
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