The Loyola track team made more tracks into history at the University of Dallas Invitational on April 13 as Joe Kutner, computer information systems and music junior, broke his year-old record in the 800 meters.He finished sixth in the race with a time of two minutes, 2.73 seconds, beating the old time of 2:03.
“I was glad with the time I ran. I’m built to run the 800. I hope to break two minutes next year,” Kutner said about the new time, adding that he is proud to be in the record book.
Anand Viswanathan, chemistry and pre-med senior, and Charlie French, computer science and music senior, finished ninth and tenth, respectively, in the 800-meter race. Viswanathan’s time was 2:13.48 followed by French’s with 2:20.12.
Mike Gulotta, history sophomore, and Peter Barnitz, visual arts junior, also competed in the meet and finished first in their respective events. Gulotta, who had broken the 5,000-meter record the week before, ran 16:45.4. Barnitz high jumped 1.93 meters to best the field. He also triple-jumped 12.29 meters for third place.
Head coach Paul Garvey explained some of the progress that was made. “We were trying to beat people (and teams),” he said. “It’s been a long time since we ran as individuals who could win it.”
In the 1,500, Viswanathan finished third and Kutner finished fourth. Viswanathan ran 4:31.18, and Kutner ran 4:33.65.
The men’s team would have finished third in the team standings, but the standings were not made official because the meet was not completed due to inclement weather. On the women’s side, Natalie Sargent, general studies freshman, finished second in the 3,000 meters with a time of 12:23.3.
After the Dallas meet, Garvey commented on the team performance. “It was a level playing field of walk-ons, and we’re beating people handily,” he said. “Now we’re back in a situation where we have a high level of competition. You have to face your limitations, and it can be frightening.”
The Southern Mississippi Invitational the following weekend, against such schools as Mississippi State and UNO, was a little bit of a letdown and ended the season for the Wolfpack.
Kutner ran the fourth-best 800 time in Loyola history, 2:03.44, to finish 14th.
Kutner commented on the last meet of the season: “I didn’t concentrate enough on running my own race,” he said. “It was a hard season, and I decided halfway through to concentrate on the 800. A couple more meets definitely would have helped.”
Gulotta competed in the 5,000 and finished with a time of 16:33.26. Viswanathan finished 13th, running 17:26.49, followed by French with a time of 17:26.47.
Viswanathan rounded off the runners at the meet with a time of 4:30.72, good for 11th place in the 1,500 meters.
Barnitz followed his first place jump in the Dallas meet with a fourth place jump of 1.88 meters.
On the women’s side of the track, Sargent finished 10th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 22:26.26.
