Coach Dall prepares for conference championship
The Javelina track and field team is preparing for the LSC Indoor Championships after a good outing at the Howie Ryan Invitational in Houston, Texas, this past week.
When asked about the preparations prior to the meet in Lubbock which will be held in Texas Tech’s indoor facility, Head Coach Ryan Dall said the team is focusing on the little things.
“We’re Just trying to get a good week of practice in and focus on the little things that make a significant difference,” he said.
In a meet filled with Division I competition such as Houston, Sam Houston, Houston Baptist, and more, Coach Dall and his team came away with two gold medals, one silver, and three bronze medals and a couple of top five finishes on the day. The most impressive performances came from the field eventers accounting for most of the medals won on the day.
D.J. Delancy earned his second gold medal of the indoor season with a 17.07m (56-00) throw on his fourth attempt and in that same event, Marco Arevalo claimed the bronze medal after launching a 16.26m (53-04.25) throw.
Delancy also placed fifth in the weight throw and senior Stephen Cardenas finished third, capturing the bronze medal on a 17.45m (57.03) throw.
Redshirt Senior and Jamaican native Delancy currently sits at the top of the shotput list in the Conference and has a chance to walk out as the shot-put champion.
“Being at the top of rankings boosts my confidence going into the meet and walking out on top will assist in the overall team victory,” Delancy said. “The goal is to be LSC champions for the entire team.”
Kimberly Ortolon, junior from Edna, Texas, finished at the top of the leader board in the pole-vaulting event with a personal best 3.85m (12-7.5) and the final medal for the field eventers would be junior Dustin Richardson who finished in third place in the high jump at 1.95m (6.04.75) just behind two athletes from Lamar University and Alcorn State.
“Throwing and all field events are important, and we put a lot of emphasis on it as it is a huge part of our program,” coach Dall said. “Coach P (Ryan Petrocchi) does a great job of preparing our throwers and hopefully come Lubbock, our men and women will be firing on all cylinders.”
On the track, freshman Cynai Christopher finished second in the 400m dash with a 58.08 finish as she is currently seventh in the LSC rankings for the race going into the Championships in Lubbock, Texas.
The 4×400 meter relay team finished first over Lamar University and Houston Baptist with a time of 3:19.07 to close out the meet on an extremely high note.
Member of the 4×400 team, Sterling Riles, is looking forward to the trip to Lubbock, and being a part of the All-American 4×400 team in the outdoor season last semester, he is looking forward to now adding LSC champion to his resumé.
“Finishing the meet like that was a positive note to end on and it will definitely be momentum going into the conference meet,” Riles said.
Dall led the Javelinas to a LSC championship in previous years, and after a missed opportunity in the outdoor season last year, there is a chance to become champions again and head into the outdoor season that follows with a trophy.
The LSC Championship will be in Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 26 and 27.