Hayden Mortensen
Reporter
Olympians raced with Lutes. The stage lined purple and gold.
Four Lutes competed with a personal record so bold.
To kick start the season, Chris McGraw went mighty fast.
It sounds like 2020 will be a blast.
PLU Track and Field sent a small contingent to initiate their season at the University of Washington preview meet. The annual meet is open to all qualifying athletes, so a range of talent was present all the way up to the professional level.
It was a special start for Sulin Degollado, Emily Reeder, Vakeaemanu Hunkin, but it was a particularly grand opener for Christopher McGraw. He went .24 seconds faster than he ever has in the 60 meter hurdles: a significant speed increase. His performance placed him 18th overall. Reeder and Hunkin placed top 30 in throws while Degollado represented the Lutes
in the mile.
The Lutes are now full steam ahead towards greatness. “January and February are big training months,” Head Coach Adam Frye said. “It’s also an important time for building our team.”
Team bonding seems to be an important area of focus for the 2020 season.
“We have to find the balance between growing as individual athletes and growing as a team,” Senior Captain Hunkin said.
The variety of events in the sport makes unity harder to accomplish too. Each event is practiced at a different time and place on the track, which bars athletes from bonding as often as they’d like. Joe Stilnovich, a senior sprinter and team captain, revealed that athletes are “fighting that stigma this year by going out of [their] way before and after practice to spend time together.”
“My number one goal every year is to create a positive, welcoming and inclusive environment… I expect that will pay off with strong performances at the Northwest Conference (NWC) Championships and some national qualifiers again this season,” Frye said.
The women’s track and field team welcomes back two of their four 2019 national qualifiers: All-American throwers, Emily Reeder and Ava Nelson. Unfortunately, All-American high jumper Lauren Wilson is out with a knee injury, and sprinter Imani Keyes is absent this season. Nevertheless, the women’s team has many talented returners in all event categories to give the team good performance depth.
The men’s team expects a fast distance crew again. Also, some dual-sport newcomers are set to contribute in sprints and throwing. They will find a “fantastic home” on the track and field team like Stilnovich claimed he did (him being a former PLU football player himself).
Junior mid-distance runner Hezekiah Goodwin hopes to be a catalyst to that “fantastic home” in his new position as captain. He explained, “Compared to last year, I have definitely taken on more of a leadership role. With that said, I want to ensure there’s an uplifting culture within the team, so that everyone feels like their needs are being met.”
Both sides anticipate an eventful year. The Lutes are unanimously excited for their annual spring break training trip. They will travel to San Diego to train and compete at Point Loma. More training time was added to this season as well.
That “enabled us to get more essential preparation before our competition season,” Stilnovich said. Hopefully a slingshot effect will come to the Lutes from this extra training.
“It’s imperative we are diligent with our training to best prepare us later on,” Goodwin said.
The Lutes expect higher placements in the NWC across the board.
“We have some of the best coaches to build a foundation and continue to grow our track and field program to be one of the best in the NWC,” Hunkin said.
Stilnovich, Goodwin, and Hunkin were our captain correspondents. They, along with captains Christopher McGraw, Andraya Conger, and Bailey Forsyth will strive to lead the Lutes to victory.
“We are a committed, enthusiastic group of student athletes who are always proud to represent PLU,” Hunkin said.
Students, staff, and family should support the Lutes by attending the PLU Open on Mar. 14 and the Northwest Conference combined events on Apr. 13-14.
