After a successful winter track season last year, the Men’s Indoor Track and Field team come back for another year with strong potential. In 2016, the Muhlenberg men’s distance medley relay squad consisted of graduate Jaryd Flank ‘17, Anthony Calantoni ‘18, Mike Bessette ‘19 and Corey Mullins ‘19. Last year the team earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. They became the third relay team to receive All-American honors in school’s history. As a year has passed and the team has lost Flank they look to reorganize and replace the three time all-American runner in the upcoming 2017 season.
“We’ve talked quite a bit about how to make the DMR work as another great team to qualify for nationals.” – Corey Mullins
In 2017, the goal is to be competing in Alabama, the sight of the NCAA National Championship meet. While preparing for the start of this season these three athletes are looking to train and focus on building their endurance from the cross country season and translating it into a successful winter track season. Bessette shed some light on the idea of prepping for the track season, “In terms of training and planning, a lot of the focus has been building strength from cross country and utilizing that strength on the track. Most of us start practicing in August and go straight until May so there is a lot of focus on staying healthy while getting stronger at the same time. We plan on having some athletes move around to different events to see if they can contribute to different areas and fill in some of the holes from the graduating seniors.”
Mullins explains how they are going to work around the loss of Jaryd Flank and how they plan on replacing such a talented runner. “We’ve talked quite a bit about how to make the DMR work as another great team to qualify for nationals. Anthony and I will most likely move up one distance (Anthony to 1200 and I will take the 1600). Otherwise, we’re still looking at finding someone new for the 800, while Mike also has some good competition this year for the 400 spot. It’s still a little while way, but it’s never too early to start planning.” In order to get as fast as a team as they had last year, they’re going to move around their versatile runners to a longer distance while trying to fill in the last spot with a returning athlete, or even a incoming freshmen who has potential to be effective in the 400 or 800 leg.
“We plan on having some athletes move around to different events to see if they can contribute to different areas and fill in some of the holes from the graduating seniors.” – Mike Bessette
Mullins explains the best advice he’s ever received and why it has helped create him and his teammates to become such a success story; “you simply need to love what you’re doing, and appreciate every practice and race. Every teammates counts, even if you might not always score at meets. On a smaller team is goes a long way for everyone to be healthy and working hard; and we know that everyone is doing it for the love of the sport. It creates a bond with the team that I would say I didn’t have in high school.” These bonds Mullins and the rest of his teammates have built translates into the success they uphold throughout the season. They’re able to work together on and off the track in order to build the chemistry that transforms them to a great relay squad. Ultimately, this season the team plans on taking this chemistry to nationals, in hopes to become All-Americans again.
