From left to right: Patrick Dowd, Robert Buisson, Jack DesRoches, and Michael Vocke
- - -
This past weekend was an incredible way to cap off indoor and send us soaring into the outdoor season. The Jesuit Blue Jays made the long trek up to Boston to race at what can be argued as the fastest track in the world. Not only did they exceed expectations, but they have set the mood for the upcoming months and set a challenge for everyone else in Louisiana.
When Coach Cullen Doody was asked about why Boston out of all places, he said, "we don't have any banked tracks in Louisiana, so I figured if we would travel, we would go to BU which is known for producing fast times. Also, I knew the races would be competitive."
Every one of the Blue Jays secured an indoor PR, not to mention times that would eclipse their outdoor personal bests as well. Here are the results from each of the Blue Jays that ran at Boston with a comparison of their personal bests.
Michael Vocke (JR) - Ran 4:16.91 for the full mile which converts to a 4:15 1600m.
Previous PR: 4:17.27 (1600m)
Patrick Dowd (SR) - Ran 8:27.35 for 3000m which converts to a 9:04 3200m.
Previous PR: 9:18.65 (3200m)
Robert Buisson (SR) - Ran 8:30.58 for 3000m which converts to a 9:08 3200m.
Previous PR: 9:22.49 (3200m)
Jack DesRoches (SR) - Ran 8:33.00 for 3000m which converts to a 9:10 3200m.
Current PR: 9:07.37
When observing this, someone may ask why would they bother running an indoor race, when the indoor season is virtually over. Coach Doody had a retort for this stating that they ran a great 3200m almost one year ago to the date at the West Feliciana Invitational and that whether the race is indoors versus outdoors doesn't matter.
These results are impressive, to say the least, and it surely sets the stage for an even more impressive outdoor season. Jesuit has always shown dominance in the 3200m and from what it looks like, we might see Louisiana's first sub-9-minute effort since 1982 from John Ratcliffe of Bonnabel.
Coach Cullen Doody's final comment was on if they had set any goals coming into this meet or not. He said, "I don't think we had any specific goals. We just really wanted to see where our fitness was after a long winter training block, but I do think the guys secretly wanted to beat my 3k PR so they could talk trash to me."
The results don't lie. This team is in good shape and has runners who are now regarded as some of the fastest runners in Louisiana history in terms of both indoor and outdoor performances.
The Jesuit Blue Jays seem to be soaring ahead of their marks from last year, who knows what else will develop as the season goes on, and how many other competitors from Louisiana can disrupt this momentum that they have going for them?
From left to right: Patrick Dowd, Robert Buisson, Jack DesRoches, and Michael Vocke
- - -
This past weekend was an incredible way to cap off indoor and send us soaring into the outdoor season. The Jesuit Blue Jays made the long trek up to Boston to race at what can be argued as the fastest track in the world. Not only did they exceed expectations, but they have set the mood for the upcoming months and set a challenge for everyone else in Louisiana.