Suffolk University’s track & field program continued to set program records at The College of William and Mary’s 59th Colonial Relays in Virginia, as the women’s distance medley relay team broke the school’s record by completing the race in 12:22.54.
This program record-setting performance by Amalia Dorion, Sydney Fogg, Amy Pattelena and Sofia Moukaddem was enough for Suffolk to finish third in the distance medley relay.
“We all went in with breaking the record being our plan. As the race was going on, we didn’t really know what was on the clock. By the time Amalia was running the mile, we were watching the scoreboard and timer click away and we had a good idea that it was going to happen,” said Fogg. “To have it be by as much as it was, was really cool.”
With the idea of breaking the record in mind, Fogg credited the teamwork and friendship of this group as being one of the reasons why they shattered this record.
Regardless of what happened, they just wanted to go into the race and have a fun time.
“It was super fun, super cool to get that record. Our mindset going in was to just have fun and see what happened,” said Fogg. “We all just really click as a group. We all just really love to run and support each other.”
Suffolk’s performance in the distance medley relay put Suffolk on the board with six points, good enough to put them in a tie for 24th place in the meet standings.
According to Fogg, Suffolk was one of the only Division III schools attending the meet, with most of the other teams being from Division I or Division II.
“It’s always really fun to get the opportunity to get the opportunity to run against DI and DII teams. The competition is always a step above, and it’s really fun to go out there and be in the mix with those girls. I think everyone on the team handles that really well and can really shine in those moments,” said Fogg.
Freshman Tighe Hosman also rewrote his name in the record books on the men’s side, breaking his own school record in the 400-hurdles with a time of 58.67 seconds.
For someone like Hosman, breaking his own record in the 400-hurdles motivates him to keep improving on that time.
“This just lets me know that I have so many other chances to do it. In Suffolk’s one hundred years of being a thing, if I’m the best to ever do the 400-hurdles in those one hundred years, it just makes me wonder how I’ll run in four years when I’m a senior,” said Hosman.
Hosman’s record-setting performance was good for 31st in the 39-runner field, however Suffolk showed an ability to place in a field full of intense competition.
Despite this fierce competition from big schools from around the region, Hosman didn’t let their schools’ reputations faze him.
“I’ve learned that division doesn’t mean much in track. It doesn’t matter who they run for, it’s who’s running,” said Hosman. “I’m not racing the school, I’m racing the person.”
According to a press release from Suffolk, competing against over 1,000 student athletes, this was the largest event that the track team will compete at during the spring season.
Competing around so many different athletes from across the region can be an exciting experience for many players, especially for a freshman who’s new to collegiate competition. The prospect of racing against athletes from such prestigious schools helped fire runners like Hosman up during the event.
“It does kind of motivate you a little bit. Like ‘yeah, I’ll show them what DIII is about.’ It was an incredible atmosphere and I can’t wait to be back,” said Hosman.
Suffolk’s success in Virginia follows years of record breaking performances, writing the history of this young program.
Fogg attributes the tight-knit nature of this team over the years as one of the main reasons why they keep setting so many records together.
“We all just love seeing each other succeed. We’re all super close, love working hard together. Coach [Will] Feldman and coach [Kerstin] Darsney are really amazing and support us both as athletes and people,” said Fogg.
With so much success in the past, freshmen like Hosman plan to keep this program’s reputation going in the future taking inspiration from those who came before them.
“I definitely think there’s going to be a lot of success in the future. The upperclassmen motivate us a lot,” said Hosman. “Specifically Josh Durand has been a big help for me. He motivates me and the other freshmen a lot. Even though he graduates this year, we’ll still have him in our head in the future motivating us to run and be that role model to the incoming grades, pushing them to be better and win conferences as a team.”
Overall, Suffolk had a strong showing in Virginia. On top of the program records set, Dorion notched 10th place in the 1500 meter run, finishing with a time of 4:35.28. This time ranks as the 13th best placement in Division III this season, according to a Suffolk press release.
Suffolk also saw success in the 100 meter hurdles, with senior Catherine Madden placing 19th, alongside sophomore Hilma Ortega right behind her at 25th.
“It was a super fun trip. Overall it was really cool to watch everybody step up in these bigger stages and really just show off all the hard work they’ve been putting in all year,” said Fogg.
