JORDAN PURVIS
Special to The Leader
Members of the track and field team performed well during the Tiffin Dragon Invite, as they wrapped up their seventh indoor meet of the season last Saturday.
Senior pole vaulter Justyn Haines from Albion, N.Y., finished in third place of the pole vault category with a 15 feet, 7 inches (4.75 meters) leap. As a result, he dismissed his previous best of 15 feet, 5 inches (4.72 meters) two weekends ago at the Rochester Institute of Technology Invitational.
When reflecting on his collegiate career over the past four years, Haines joyfully said, “I liked it. It was fun, I wouldn’t have wanted to go to college and not be on the track team. I came to college because of track and my major, criminal justice and sociology.”
He later added, “As a senior, it’s a lot of pressure, because I’m in the national rankings to go compete for nationals, but I have to keep the pressure on to maintain in the standings.”
Haines is well respected amongst his peers and coaching staff.
“Justyn is an extremely talented athlete. I don’t train with him since he’s a pole vaulter and I’m a pit jumper,” said Roan Baxter, Haines’ teammate. “But the exchanges I’ve had with him have been great, and the amount of work he puts into his crafts inspires me to be better at what I do.”
Haines is currently number two in the Fredonia all-time top 10 list for track and field.
Other notable performances from the Blue Devils in Tiffin, O.H., included freshman star Daniel Sudyn who capped off his best by recording a jump of 6.49 meters in the long jump category. Junior Nick Serafin concluded his day by coming in fourth in the high jump with a jump of 1.89 meters. Junior Francis Ethan ended with a time of 8.55.42 in the 3,000 meters. Senior Mitch Loiacano clocked a time of 2:00.50 in the 800 meters to finish off at third place.
The Blue Devils continue competition on Saturday at the Marc Deneault Invitational. The event will take place in Ithaca, N.Y., hosted by Cornell University.