Photo: St. Bonaventure Athletics
BY KYLE MAIER, SPORTS WRITER
The St. Bonaventure University men’s and women’s track teams will commence their indoor seasons at the RIT Indoor Invitational in Rochester, New York, this Friday.
The event marks the first of six indoor invitationals the teams will participate in throughout the winter.
Junior Clay Peets anticipates running the mile and 3k following a record-breaking cross country season.
“The goal for the mile would be to win the race first and foremost, but also run a time under that school record that has lasted so long,” said Peets. “For the 3k, I really want to empty the tank while maintaining even split times. Also, dictate most of the race, pulling my teammates Zane Courtwright, Aiden Scattergood and Brendan Chapple to a good finish as well.”
Other Bonnies also look ahead to getting back in action.
“RIT will be a good opportunity to see where I’m at and get acclimated to a new caliber of racing,” said freshman Meghan Lex. “As a team, I think the same is true. We are all very excited to see how our winter training has paid off and how we will continue to progress throughout the season.”
For many athletes like Lex, the meet serves as their St. Bonaventure track debut.
“As a freshman, my expectations are just that I have a good, tactically sound race,” said Chapple. “I didn’t race during cross country, so RIT is my first collegiate race.”
Despite this, the freshmen have aspirations for the coming season.
“My expectation for our team this indoor season is to rewrite the record books,” said Chapple. “I don’t see a single school that I think will be standing after this indoor season.”
Veteran upperclassmen share similar ambitions.
“The best foundation for a good outdoor track season is a healthy and consistent indoor season,” said Peets. “Our team has ambitious goals, which I love. A few guys want to make finals at A-10 championships and score points. Other guys will be looking to crack down on their personal bests and try new events. Everyone on our team might be in different spots as far as ability goes, but they all give the same effort race, which is 110%.”
The invitational, hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, will begin at 4 p.m. in Gordon Field House.
maierkj22@bonaventure.edu
