By: James Whiteford
The Bellarmine women’s track and field team accomplished something that no other team has accomplished in program history: an under-9:30 time in the 4x800m relay.
The team set the record with a time of 9:27.94 at the Margaret Simmons Invite at Murray State University on March 27.
The runners who set the record are Emily Wiegel, Lauren Masden, Emma Wells and Chloe Powell.
The previous record was 9:33.81, set in 2015.
“I told [the team] that the coaches were talking about entering the 4x800m relay team, and that they had a really good shot of breaking the school record,” head coach Angela Musk said.
“I told them what they each had to average, and I think that gave them a big boost of confidence because they have all ran an open 800 faster than they needed to run on the relay,” she said.
The coaching staff and team members said they were happy to see the 4x800m relay offered at the Margaret Simmons Invite because it is not part of many competitions.
“When we saw that the Margaret Simmons Invite was going to offer a 4x800m relay, I knew right away that we wanted to set up a good team to try and go for the school record,” Musk said.
Said Wiegel: “[Our team members] usually are competing against each other in the 800m, so it was fun to be able to work together and run on a relay team.”
Training to break a record does not happen overnight. These athletes put in the time and miles for quite some time leading up to the event.
“We pretty much train year-round. We start doing base work in June and will run all summer and then compete in cross country in the fall. Then get back into training for track season,” Masden said.
As the season continues, the seniors said they understand these next few weeks are very important.
“It’s bittersweet because it’s coming to an end, but I’m very thankful that we are having such a successful season.” Wiegel said.
The team still has several events left in its season before the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championships on May 14 and May 15.
The team has many other goals they want to reach this season.
“Our team goal for the conference is to score in the 4x400m, and make our presence known as a new Division I program,” said Wiegel
“As a team I think our biggest goal is to keep everyone healthy for the rest of the season. As far as ASUN goes, our goal is just to have a strong showing and see how we stack up against our new competition.” said Masden.
The team will compete this weekend here at Bellarmine University for the Jim Vargo Invitational on April 10.
For more information about the team’s schedule, visit athletics.bellarmine.edu