Men’s and Women’s Track Team Aim For Higher Goals

by npatano on April 7, 2022


Friar Sports


Stephen Foster ’22

Sports Staff

The Providence College Men’s and Women’s Track Teams have begun their spring track season. They have participated in two tournaments so far, the Raleigh Relays and the Black and Gold Invitational. 

Taylor Newman ’23, who runs sprints for the PC Women’s Track Team, described the team’s goals this year, explaining, “This season, some goals for the team are to support one another every day and push each other to be the best athletes we can be. Continue to break our own personal records as well as school records. We hope to all stay healthy and avoid injury. Moreover, continue to foster the development of positive mental attitudes.” 

The teams certainly seem to be on the right track with breaking personal and school records, as many times have been bested already across only two tournaments.

The Friars opened up their season at the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility in Raleigh, NC for the Raleigh Relays.

This season opening tournament was hosted by North Carolina State University on March 24-26. 

Photo Courtesy of PC Athletics

Notable performances by the men’s team include AJ Ernst ’22 finishing 12th in the 1,500 meters, David McGlynn ’22 setting a personal record and moving into sixth place all-time in PC history with a time of 29:04.9 in the 10,000-meters, and Abdel Laadiel ’25 breaking the Irish Junior record (which has been the same for 50 years) with a time of 29:33 in the 10,000 meters. 

Notable performances by the women’s team include Nicole Borowiec ’23 recording a time of 14.98 in the 100 meter hurdles to break the PC record, Niamh Gowing ’22 finishing with a time of 56.87 in the 400-meters to move into third in the College’s history, Hawa Grear ’24 running a time of 12.61 in the 100-meters to rank second in PC history, and Meg Hughes ’24 recording a time of 63:64 in the 400-meter hurdles to set a new PC record.

The Friars had a short break in the action before taking a trip to Bryant University to run in the Black and Gold Invitational this past weekend on Saturday, April 2. 

In this tournament, PC had 15 members of their program finish in the top five for their events. 

On the men’s side, Liam Back ’24 finished first and set a meet record in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.21. Angus White ’22 finished second, right behind Back, with a time of 1:53.74. The Friars finished in first, second, third, fourth, and sixth place in the 1,500-meters thanks to Michael Morgan ’25, Patrick Thygesen ’24. Ryan Gallagher ’22, Josh Lewin ’24, and Matt Lepine ’22 respectively. Brett Lehman ’25 recorded a time of 49.64 to place third in the 400 meters. 

On the women’s side, Meg Hughes ’24 broke her own school record in the 400 meters with a time of 61.34, just over two seconds faster than her previous time. Nicole Borowiec followed suit, finishing third overall and breaking her own school record in the 100 meters hurdles with a time of 14.90. Niamh Gowing ’22 won first place in the 400 meters with a time of 56.74, and Alex O’Neill ’23 won first place and set a meet record in the 800 meters with a time of 2:09.17. Halle Atkinson ’23 and Kimberley May ’25 ran close behind O’Neill, finishing second and third, respectively.

When asked what her takeaways were from the Black and Gold Invitational, Taylor Newman ’23 emphasized how proud she is of her team for their effort and performance in the meet and how she believes they are only getting started. 

Newman detailed, “Some takeaways from the Bryant Black and Gold Invitational are that we showed some real promise with a number of the girls achieving personal best times so early in the season.”

She also added, “We have time to improve in some areas, but it was a great start. As the weather gets warmer and we continue to train hard and put the time in, the team has the potential to make even more improvements on race times as the season continues.”

The PC Men’s and Women’s Track Teams will host and participate in the Friar Invitational this Friday, April 8, held on Ray Treacy Track at Hendricken Field. 

This will be their only home meet of the season, and the Friars are looking to defend their home turf with vigilance. 

Newman shared her excitement for the tournament, explaining, “It will most likely be 10 to 12 of the top teams in New England and New York. The team hopes that everyone competes to the best of their ability, while supporting one another. It should be a great night in Friartown!” 

Track enthusiasts and fanatics can head down to Hendricken Field or tune in to FloSports (found on the Providence College athletics website) on Friday night at 5:00 p.m. to see the PC Track Team in action.