Courtesy of LJ Que

Last weekend, the men’s and women’s track and field teams attended two different meets, competing at the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., and UMO Spring Opener hosted by the University of Maine at Orono. The Polar Bears were particularly successful in Atlanta, where Noah Rockey ’27 and Charlie Aucoin ’27 broke the school record for the 400m and the discus throw, respectively.

Kane Demers ’26 was named NESCAC Field Athlete of the Week for winning the long jump. He also finished third in the 200m. On the women’s side, Kennedy Kirkland ’27 won the long jump, and Mardy Novak ’27 won the javelin throw. Sophia Young ’27 also finished top five in the long jump.

Rockey recalled the moment he saw his race time.

“We had to wait like 20 minutes because they have to do the official time,” Rockey said. “It felt very unreal to me in the sense that the race itself didn’t feel super fast and I’d come back from injury. But once I did see it, I was like ‘I can’t believe I actually just did that.’”

For Novak, it was a personal best performance.

“So we had to fly there, [a] whole big production. Leading into it, I had the heaviest lifts of the season so far. I was sore on Friday when I was prepping for the meet.” Novak said. “Technically, it’s starting to click [and] fall into place, which is really nice. ”

Though the team was split between two different meets, its spirit felt stronger than ever.

“This is the first year where we’ve really clicked socially, and everybody on the team is just so wonderful, so kind, and we really look out for each other.” Novak said. “You’re really focusing on your own [event] the most you can, but then you have your teammates running around from their different events so they can stop and cheer you on.”

According to Associate Head Coach Matthew Harmon, the trip to Georgia did not put any extra pressure on the team. He explained that, unlike at important team-based meets such as the NESCAC Championship and Maine State Indoor Championship, athletes were encouraged to focus on their individual pursuits and chase a record or personal best.

“This is just another Saturday meet in April, whether we were in Maine or Boston or Emory. We’re really lucky that we get to go through in the warm weather and have a lot of [alumni] that donated money that allow us to do that.” Harmon said. “But I was telling [the team that] this is a business trip, and there’s no expectation that you throw a school record today, or you throw an NCAA qualifier today. This is just another step in the season, and so the prep for the week didn’t change.”

With NESCACs on the horizon, Rockey noted the added difficulty of practicing unfamiliar events.

“People have to really step outside their comfort box and train in things they’ve done before, but a lot more, especially now because we really need those extra points there. Someone who’s jumping right now will now spend even more time than before practicing their throwing,” Rockey said. “I guess the biggest extra toll at the moment is having to do all this extra work in other fields.”

Novak emphasized the importance of recovery, considering the year-round demands of the sport.

“I was struggling with a couple injuries throughout the winter season and then a little bit into outdoor. [I’ve been] recovering from those, focusing on healing and everything,” Novak said. “[I’m] making sure that I can be standing still at the end of our season, [which] goes from October to June.”

The Polar Bears will travel to Mass. this weekend to compete at the Tufts Invitational, followed by a short road trip to Lewiston next weekend for the Pine Tree State Classic hosted by Bates College.