Track and field team opens season with sights on nationals

By Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporter

On March 2, the men’s and women’s track and field teams officially started practice, and the coaching staff are optimistic for the rest of this season.

The men’s team sees several returning athletes, including long-distance runners from LCC’s cross country team, which won the NJCAA Division II national title. This group includes Nate Carmody, Lucas Hopkins, Evan Suydam, Logan Zahn, Quaid Schimetz, Jesse Carson, and Aiden Janes. Christian Smith also returns to run sprints and compete in long jump, and thrower Thomas Lewandowski is back as another key name to watch out for this spring.

On the women’s team, the coaches pointed to Leah Shadduck, who was the NJCAA Cross Country Western Conference Runner of the Year. “This is actually only her second year running track ever,” the track coaches noted in an email. The staff also highlighted Faith Swenor, whose times are already faster than last season’s; and Claudia Paksi, who opened the season with a personal record in the 1500 meter run; and Shaelyn Schwem, who is a stand-out in throwing events.

The team also welcomed a large group of newcomers. On the men’s side, incoming athletes include Conner McCormick, Ben Snook, Jack Ryan, Jaylen Wildman, Boddy Donley, Elias Valdez and Bobby Wilson for the distance and mid-distance team.

On the women’s side, Malayna Thompson, Ava Patterson, and Bailey Meiring join the distance and mid-distance team. The coaches also mentioned sprinter Zoe Newberry, whose strongest races are the 100 meter and 200 meter.

The strength and talent of the team is clear, but the program looks quite different this year due to changes in the coaching staff. Currently, the team is led by six interim coaches, three of whom are new to the program.

This year’s practices are organized into three event groups that typically meet together at different times and locations. Coach Jim Fast and Coach Kaylb VanWormer mentor athletes for sprints and jumps. Coach Jim Carter, Coach Danny Smith and Coach Meredith Cahill work with athletes for the mid-distance and distance events. Coach Bart Simpson oversees the throws group. “We try as much as possible to find opportunities for the different groups to be together,” the coaching staff said.

The teams practice Monday through Friday and often meet on the weekends to complete their assigned training plans. “We tailor our practices based on event type and where we are currently in the season,” the coaching staff said, “intending to have our athletes ‘peak’ at our final meet and nationals in May.”

The coaches have high hopes for the season, especially for athletes’ personal improvement and national-level competition. “Our team has great talent, and we have several athletes hoping to make it to National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Nationals this year,” the coaches wrote. “We also want to see many personal records from all of our student-athletes this year.”

The coaching team is focused on helping the athletes improve both on and off the track and are educating athletes on sleep, nutrition, strength and mobility exercises.

The season’s meets began at Indiana Wesleyan with the Polar Bear Classic on March 21. However, for many on the team, Spartan Invite at Michigan State University, which occurred on April 3, is a highlight in the season. The event gathers together colleges and universities from across Michigan, allowing LCC athletes to compete against programs from schools they are familiar with, such as Saginaw Valley, Hillsdale, Central Michigan, and University of Michigan. Often, athletes are able to reconnect with athletes that they went to high school with, adding to the fun. Notably from this year’s contest, freshman Malayna Thompson set a new personal best in the 400 meter, finishing in seventh place with a time of 1:00.9. For the men’s team, Nate Carmody placed ninth in the 1500 meter race with a time of 3:56.45—a personal best for the distance-running star. He was closely followed by Lucas Hopkins, who crossed the finish line mere seconds behind Carmody for a time of 4:01.86.

As the season continues into April and May, the team has several meets lined up. The coaches are looking forward for better weather conditions. “April weather means better weather and consequently faster times,” the coaching staff wrote.

With warmer weather hopefully now here to stay, though, the team can set its sights on a contest coming up in about a month. “We are, of course, excited for nationals this May in Hobbs, New Mexico,” the coaches said. “It’s always exciting to see our athletes compete at the national level.”

The LCC Athletics site shows the schedules for the men’s team and women’s team. There, you can also find links to the results for past events. Photo by Danny Smith.