University of Massachusets Athletics
Herald: UMass Track Set For Run At Glory
January 15, 2011 | Men's Track & Field
Jan. 15, 2011
Like the United States Postal Service, the UMass indoor track and field team delivers on time, no matter what the weather is.
Wednesday's mammoth nor'easter hardly was a hurdle for the Minutemen as they prepared for this weekend's season-opening Sorlien Memorial Invitational in Kingston, R.I.
"You hit it right on," longtime coach Ken O'Brien said. "You end up with a group of kids that are extremely dedicated and self-disciplined, who find a way. If they have a specific workout called for, they do it. They don't get deterred and say, `Oh shucks,' and sit on a couch and watch Jerry Springer on television. It makes coaching easier because they don't get down when a curveball is thrown their way."
Several members of the team echoed that sentiment.
"Conditions are never really optimal in the Northeast, but it's never anything that's insurmountable," said Sean Busch, a senior from Stow and the reigning Atlantic 10 champion in the pole vault. "The key, like it is for any track man, is muscle memory. Repetition, repetition, repetition."
Tyler Cotto, who clocked a personal best of 7.41 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles to win last year's New England indoor title, said much of the Minutemen's success is due to the closeness of the team.
"We spend a lot of hours together during the day, probably six hours," said Cotto, a senior from Holliston who's in line to break John Wright's school record in the 55 meters (7.36 seconds set in 1982). "When we have that bond the good performance comes out on the track. When everyone has a good attitude it's easy to pour it on (in competition) and enables you to adapt to everything that comes your way."
Senior Stephanie Aguguo owns a personal best in the triple jump of 39 feet, 8 3⁄4 inches, just shy of the school record of 40-5 1⁄2 set by Janey Meeks in 1995. Aguguo agrees with Cotto's assessment.
"Many of the girls were recruited together, and they Facebook over the summer to keep in touch," said Aguguo, of Shrewsbury. "We have dinner together after practice, and things like that help the team become closer."
That attitude should ease the transition of the UMass freshmen, including 18 men and 14 women. The crop includes potential standouts Aaron Araujo of New Bedford in the 400 individual medley and Patrick McGowan of Mansfield in the distance events.
Women's coach Julie LaFreniere also welcomed junior transfer Colleen Wetherbee, a Dennis-Yarmouth product, into the fold from North Carolina State.
Other key performers to watch on the women's team are Gina Perno in the 800 meters, Elizabeth Fisk of Seekonk in the 1,500, Michelle Jenssen of Mansfield in the sprints, and Courtney Baldwin of Lowell in the middle distances.
Top men include relay specialists Brian Tino of Tewksbury and Scott VanderMolen, middle-distance runner Joe Doyle of Lancaster, and multi-eventer Daniel Schwartz of Sudbury.
"I have a phrase that I use for a lot of our team: Our strength is we don't have any weakness," O'Brien said. "With our program, we don't have a whole lot of blue-chip, high-scoring kids, but we do have a lot of good, solid kids that work extremely hard. We have the type of team that keeps coming at you and we have great depth across the board, and there's a great deal of enthusiasm among the UMass kids."
Players Mentioned
