Author: The Crusader Staff Writer, Kenneth Jensen
Track and Field is one of the most popular individual sports, as it has many athletes going against each other to see who is the best! It is always fun to watch athletes compete because of the high suspense the people have before and after an event. The Belmont Abbey College Track and Field team is known for its many accomplishments. Last year, they competed in the 2022 Conference Carolinas Championship Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field. They came in fourth place with three athletes breaking the school record and making all-conference! But for the new starting season, they also have many incoming freshmen and a new coach in their lineup!
The new coach, James Thierfelder, is getting everyone ready to compete in the track meets. Coach James has excellent experience coming off as a Belmont Abbey Track and Field alumni. His input on the freshman is exciting as he says, “this new team that we formed this year is great. We have a lot of exciting freshmen with great times. I’m excited to see the growth of everyone on the team”.
The Track and Field athletes undergo challenging conditioning workouts to prepare for the upcoming season. They run 10-20 100-meter repeats for hard days, with only 25 seconds to recover before they run again. This workout is challenging because it usually takes about 2 minutes to recover from a sprint but to train our D2 athletes to the best of their ability, they have less time to recover to get their bodies in better shape. As for a follow-up the next day, they do bodyweight workouts, with light stretching exercises after. For team bonding, once every week, they play fun games, like kickball or football, to get everyone excited and loose.
Our other main Track and Field coaches, Dan Finanger and Tomas Cerdeiras, love to keep the team positive throughout every workout and session. The crew hangs with each other almost daily to keep that positive vibe, even in the classroom! But the question is, why should you support the track team? Our athletes are excited to watch as they compete hard to the best of their ability, and the track team is an outstanding team that positively impacts our school and our community.
Don’t be afraid to drop by the track and support us; we would love to have you guys!
This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022, Issue 2 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.
