The 2018 Liberty League Indoor Championship for track and field was held last Friday and Saturday on St. Lawrence’s newly surfaced track in the Newell Field House.  The Saints’ competitors were Ithaca College, Rensselaer Polytech Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Rochester.  Every seat in the stands looking down on the freshly surfaced track was filled with fans supporting their athletically skilled friends and family members.

Ian Clough’21 was named the Men’s Rookie of the Meet after winning the 60-meter dash. He set the meet record in the event with a time of 6.95 seconds on Friday during the preliminary round.  Subsequently, on Saturday he finished 5 one-hundredths of a second ahead of RPI’s Dale Kelly.

Dylan Babcock’19 finished third for shot put on Friday and first for weight on Saturday with a mark of 15.58 meters.  When Babcock was asked which parts of his performance he felt confident about, and which parts he felt he could work on improving, he revealed, “I feel like my performance in both the shot and weight could be a lot better. I did manage to get first in the weight throw, but I knew I had a whole lot more in me.”

Travis Hamre’18 ran the 4×400 meter relay along with his teammates Elijah Wickland-Shearer’20, Josh Ma’18, and Gordon White’18.  After their hard work, the Saints placed No. 3 in this event.  Hamre told reporters that he felt mixed about his performance because he has performed better at Leagues in years prior, but he also added a positive note, explaining that “There were only a couple events we did not score in. I think that shows we have a diverse array of talent across all the events and that our team overall was peaking at the right time. Almost every single person either had a season best or near a season best performance.”

Other impressive scoring performances include those of Matt Lautenberg’21, who placed No. 3 in the men’s heptathlon scoring a total of 4,088 points; Cole Burbage’20, who placed No.8 in the men’s heptathlon, scoring a total of 3,715 points; and Liam Burbage’20, who placed No.8 in the men’s high jump.

The Saints placed No.4 overall in the Liberty League indoor championship.  They are now looking to their outdoor season for success and Babcock that “Everyone on our team can use this No. 4 place finish to our advantage moving onwards to outdoor leagues.”

Babcock added, “Moving into outdoor, I expect greater success as a team. We have great chemistry, and I feel like above all that’s our greatest strength: to be able to rely on each other for motivation.”  This great chemistry and motivation spread throughout the team makes everyday a great day to be a Saint!