The Eagles met under overcast skies to compete in the Track and Field Winthrop Spring Invitational against UNC Asheville, Gardner-Webb and Coker on Saturday, March 13. Winthrop finished strong, capturing six events and setting two school records with four individuals setting personal bests.
Three first-year collegiate athletes made notable contributions to the Winthrop men’s team, with Austin Spencer coming in first for the 3,000m with a time of 8:58.64, Triston Morgan finishing third with a personal record in the 400m and Jacob Furland taking second in the hammer throw with a school-record hurl of 56.08m. Furland also finished third in the discus throw with a 40.45m throw.
Graduate student Liv Paxton was the women’s leader of the 3,000m with a time of 9:59.62 and was “pretty pleased” that she broke a school record previously earned by Jeanne Stroud in 2013.
Junior Olivia Esselman also ran the 3,000m, coming in third and setting a personal record time of 10:31.38.
As the season goes on, Paxton plans to shift her focus from the 3,000m and look towards setting records in the 5,000m, 10,000m, and possibly even the 1,500m races.
Going from cross country season directly to track, Paxton does not find the transition too difficult as she prefers track season racing.
“Training is different because we go from doing everything on the grass [or] golf course to everything on the track. I just have to focus on being a bit faster and focusing more on pace,” Paxton said.
Another graduate student, Evan Hailes, took first place in the triple jump with a distance of 14.44m.
“Taking first was definitely a blessing because I worked hard during the off–season on mentally preparing myself and getting faster and stronger. I’m just happy to get the opportunity to compete at a high level, and I’m planning on enjoying my last season to the fullest,” Hailes said.
After graduation, Hailes plans on becoming a Language Assistant in the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program in Spain to teach English to children in grade school. Until then, he is focused on winning the conference meet in the triple jump after coming up just short with a second-place finish during the spring 2019 indoor season.
“Our coaching staff has done a great job of keeping us ready for anything in the midst of uncertainty in our schedule. I’m proud of all my teammates that came back and have been working hard from day one when we didn’t know if our season was even going to continue,” Hailes said.
Three women placed in throwing field events for the Eagles, two of which also set personal records. Freshman Elizabeth Barnett placed third with a personal record of 3.04m in the pole vault, while Junior Bethany Wise set a personal record in the hammer throw with a toss of 41.88m.
Sophomore Libby Roush finished her first collegiate meet with a second-place discus throw of 41.17m and a seventh-place hammer throw with 41.42m.
“It felt amazing to have a discus back in my hand. I had been looking forward to throwing disc and hammer since last March, especially since our first outdoor meet was a week away before school turned virtual for the rest of the semester,” Roush said.
Throwing discus since sixth grade, Roush will never tire of the event and knows “there is [still] a lot to improve on and more meets to show what [she is] capable of.”
“The whole team has been preparing for over a year and working really hard so now it’s time to show what we can do,” Roush said.
Lastly, sophomore Bautista Vivanco finished first in the 400m hurdles with a time of 56.08. An international student from Argentina, the invitational was not only Vivanco’s first time representing Winthrop but his first-ever track and field meet in the United States.
Filled with nerves before he took to the track, Vivanco remembered his supporters, even those thousands of miles away, to help him remain calm and focused.
“Right then and there I can literally see my coaches and teammates who not only had helped and guided me in every practice throughout the year but will also shout my name at the top of their lungs in each of the 400 meters of the race,” Vivanco said.
Pumped with adrenaline “like watching a horror movie while on a roller coaster,” Vivanco felt amazing and exhausted after completing his event.
“[I] felt as if every muscle in my body decided to ache at the same time. However, once I recovered a little bit it was delightful as if all the training and effort I have been putting in just manifested itself and that really made me forget all the ache and pain. I was too happy to feel anything else,” Vivanco said.
Vivanco compared track and field to ice cream.
“If you have too much of it too quickly, you might get a cramp, like a brain freeze, and also, just like ice-cream, it has many flavors so I couldn’t just stick with one event,” Vivanco said.
He plans to run in both the 4x100m and the 4x400m relays, and possibly race in the 200m or 400m dash to avoid the strain on his ankles from hurdling.
“I am not just running for myself or to simply beat other guys, but rather to represent my entire country along the way and to show everyone watching what an Argentinian lad is capable of,” Vivanco said.
The Eagles will be back home for the Adidas Winthrop Invitational on Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27.
