The Syracuse track and field team has become seasoned voyagers during the outdoor season, traveling to Florida, North Carolina and Texas.

This past weekend, the Orange finally trekked to a meet without flying, taking a bus to the Sam Howell Invitational at Weaver Track & Field Stadium in Princeton, N.J. SU capitalized on staying in the northeast and the region’s pleasant weather.

‘You don’t know when you’re going to get good weather,’ said assistant coach Dave Hegland. ‘We had nice weather at Princeton and some people took advantage of it. These next two weeks, it could be rainy and cold so you just have to seize that day when you get a good day and some people did that.’

Freshmen hurdlers Marcus Vaughn and Ramon Sosa had a good Saturday, finishing second and fourth, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles.

‘Marcus had a big breakthrough,’ Hegland said. ‘He went from 15.09 to 14.64. That’s a pretty substantial jump.’

Vaughn lost to Rutgers senior David Klics, who pulled away from him after the seventh hurdle while Sosa lost touch with Vaughn after crashing through the ninth hurdle. Vaughn believes he can catch Klics by the Big East Championships on May 6, and thinks a top three finish is realistic.

‘In high school, I was always the best one so I never had to chase after anyone,’ Vaughn said. ‘I think it makes you grow as a hurdler because I’ll be able to run faster times always having that competition, chasing after someone, trying to catch up to them.’

Vaughn and Sosa excelled in their specialty event, but several other SU athletes enjoyed a successful weekend in secondary events.

Senior Chris Telesford, who normally competes in the jumps, ran the 400-meter hurdles. Telesford ran faster than any of his hurdle teammates so far this season despite minimal training. Hegland said it’s simply because he is in good quarter-mile shape and didn’t need too much work on hurdling at practice.

Sheron Mark continued her strong outdoor season, winning the high jump and placing second in the long jump. Liz Cufari was second in the 3,000-meter race, Christen Tucker tied for third in the 100-meter dash, and Brienne Karow took second in the discus. Jen Kooken finished third behind Mark in the high jump.

Hegland said the long trips to start the season were worthwhile, but he believes the Orange will drop its times and increase its distances with two in-state meets coming up. The Orange will have a full week of practice and it gives Vaughn and Sosa another five days to work on some technical adjustments for their race.

‘I still have a lot more work to do,’ Vaughn said. ‘I only did (the new form) every other hurdle. It was a mental lapse.’

‘They’re both ready to run much faster,’ Hegland said of Sosa and Vaughn. ‘It was fun to see them get rewarded for the work that they’ve put in the last week or so. Hopefully, Saturday was just a little glimpse of what they can do.’

Published on April 10, 2005 at 12:00 pm