Timmy Gleason ‘28
Staff Writer
The Brown Invitational, the first indoor meet of the Men’s and Women’s Track and Field season, is fast approaching this upcoming weekend on Saturday, December 7. This competition will mark the first of a long, 35-week season ending potentially in May of 2025. With dozens of training sessions in the books, the Crusaders are revving to get underway at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center. Senior sprinter Aidan Bergin, senior sprinter/hurdler Josh Exantus, senior hurdler/multi-event Brian Fennelly, junior mid-distance/distance runner Liam Lyons, and senior distance runner Will Schimitsch will captain the men and lead many first-year members into their maiden collegiate meet. In this article, I interview Brendan Rogers, a first-year undergraduate and very accomplished sprinter, about his thoughts leading up to his first collegiate competition.
Question 1: What has been the best part of the preparation for this upcoming indoor season/meet? Brendan pinpoints that “training” has been the premier aspect leading up towards the Brown Invitational but also for the approaching indoor season as well. He identifies that the team has been training and refining their craft since “the second they got on campus”, also importantly throughout the “summer”. Rogers says the coaching staff has really helped out the team by giving them a “regimented” workout plan which he exclaims to be the “keys to success”.
Question 2: Are you able to identify someone on the men’s track and field team that has been like a “role model” that has helped you become acclimated to athletics at a prestigious college? Brendan highlights senior, and fellow sprinter, Andrew Van De Mark as a “great athlete and teammate.” Rogers says that Van De Mark has been “teaching what to do and what not to do and is a good overall role model.” Rogers and Van De Mark compete in the same event, therefore racing in the same group. Rogers remarks that “training side-by-side” is definitely helpful to developing a closer bond with one another.
Question 3: First meet of the indoor season – first word that comes to mind? The first word that came to mind for the first-year sprinter was “excited.” Rogers hints at “the long wait, since August until now” that the team has been training and ultimately building enthusiasm towards this inaugural meet of the 2024-25 track season. On the back of the final question, I had a follow-up question for Rogers. I wondered if he thinks this word will change as the season progresses and Brendan exclaims that he “wants to stay excited” during the season and keep the energy level high to “avoid burnout” due to the lengthy nature of the season.
With each hour that passes, the bus ride to the Brown athletic facility becomes more and more feasible and a reality. For all of these athletes, waking up on Saturday, December 7th will feel like Christmas morning, but just 3 and a half weeks early, and primed to to sprint, or throw, for the ultimate present of 1st place.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Copy Edited by Caroline Kramer ’26
Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28
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