The 2024 Hagerstown Community College Track & Field Team is "out of the gate" for the outdoor campaign —and off to a "fast" start!
On Saturday, March 16th the Hawks opened-up the outdoor season at the appropriately titled Towson University Spring Opener.
Fresh off her National indoor NJCAA title, Gabby Cook continued her undefeated 2024, winning the women's high jump in a NJCAA Outdoor Championship qualifying mark of 1.70 meters —5-feet, 7-inches. Also triumphing in the vertical jumps was indoor pole vault All American Brayden Ecker who took his discipline's title with a 15-foot, 1-inch clearance that punched "Sky-Walker's" ticket to the 2024 NJCAA Outdoor National Track & Field Championships, in Monroe, Louisiana on May 16-18, 2024.
On the track, Michael Kelly ran a lifetime best 15.27 to win the men's 110 meter high hurdles. The 2022 Chambersburg Area Senior High School product —who possesses a 4.0 GPA— trimmed .24 of a second from his previous best sojourn over the 42-inch barriers. Fellow "Pennsylvania Track Stud" Tommy Bildheiser —a 2021 Cedar Crest grad— utilized a scintillating 60.04 final 400 to win the 1500 in 4:03.82. The 800-meter specialist sliced a whopping 14-plus seconds from his previous best collegiate 1500 PR.
Six days later, on Friday, March 22nd, the Hawk "Traveling Road Show" stopped at the Fred Hardy Invitational hosted by the University of Richmond.
Two more Hawks earned NJCAA National Outdoor Qualifying marks. 2024 NJCAA National Indoor pole vault bronze medalist, Mikaila Ek posted a life-time best 11-feet, 5 3/4-inch leap. That mark is just one-and-a-quarter-inches shy of the venerable school record of 11-feet, 7-inches, set by HCC Hall of Famer Becky Walter (Ward) way back in 2000.
Rebecca Tellez (South Hagerstown High School Class of 2022) blasted through the 5,000 meters in a NJCAA national qualifying 18:51.48. The courageous performance was a personal best by a ridiculous 48.89 seconds and makes her the first Hawk distaffer to run under 19:00.0 for 5,000 meters since four-time All American Angie Rhoderick dipped-under nineteen-minutes back in 2001.
Next up for the "Hungry Hawks" is the Towson University Invitational on March 29th followed by the two-day (April 5 & 6) George Mason University Ebanks Invitational.
Photo below (photo credit Kayla Vanderford) is of Rebecca Tellez with one-kilometer to go in the University of Richmond 5,000. She covered the final 1,000 meters in a gutsy 3:39.7 to earn her trip the Outdoor NJCAA Nationals in May.