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Here’s why you’ll need to find another place for speedwork this summer

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If you head to the track at Elizabethtown College for speedwork or any other running, you’ll have to find another place this summer. The original track, installed in 2000, was ripped out earlier this month to make way for a new Mondotrack SX. It’s quite a sight to see the surface of the old track piled up at the west end of the field waiting to be hauled off. The college estimates that the new track will be completed by September.

In recent years, the track had seen some serious wear and tear, and it was clearly due for an upgrade. The college contracted with Miller Flooring Sports Equipment and Athletic Surfaces from West Chester for the approximately $775,000 project. So just what is a Mondotrack? The surface is the desired surface for track and field athletes and boasts better finish times, according to the college’s marketing and communications office. The surface is highly sought after for NCAA competitions and professional track and field events. Once installed here, the track will have a different look. Rather than a solid red surface, the lanes will have alternating blue and gray.

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Since the college is making such a big investment, it leads to the question if the community will still be able to use the track. The response from the marketing office was, “Yes–but with some restrictions.” What those might entail isn’t clear now, but many people use the the track. And while we understand the college wants to protect its investment, we are hopeful that the community can use the track while being respectful of whatever restrictions are imposed.

Of course, the priority for the college ought to be its track men’s and women’s track teams, which have had great success over the years. Here are highlights from both:

Men’s Track and Field

  • Six-time Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Indoor Champions (six straight from 2003-08).
  • Finished in the top three at 11 straight MAC Indoor Championships from 2003-13.
  • Four-time MAC Outdoor Champions (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009).
  • Have qualified individuals for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in four of the last five years.
  • 21 individual All-Americans and one All-American relay team all-time (top-eight finisher at national meet).
  • Kevin Clark was the 2007 NCAA Division III Indoor National Champion in the pole vault, the program’s first (and only, to this date) national champion.
  • Most recent All-Americans were Cameron Aregood (second in the javelin at the 2013 outdoor championships in 2013) and Matt Rever (fifth in the 800-meter run at the 2012 outdoor championships).
  • Moved from the MAC to the Landmark Conference prior to the 2014-15 season, finishing third at the indoor and outdoor conference championships and winning 12 medals between the two meets in their inaugural season as league members.
  • Elizabethtown student-athletes hold 11 facility records at the Elizabethtown Outdoor Track & Field facility.

Women’s Track & Field

  • Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Indoor Champions in 2006
  • Posted top three team finishes at the MAC Indoor Championships over their last nine seasons in the conference (2006-14).
  • Back-to-back MAC Outdoor Champions (2013 and 2014), the first outdoor titles in program history (competed at MAC Championships since 2000).
  • Head Coach Joel Hoffsmith named MAC Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2014 and Traci Tempone ’14 named Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2014.
  • Jenna Niedermayer ’13 swept MAC Field Athlete of the Year honors at the indoor and outdoor championships during her senior year (2013).
  • Have qualified individuals for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in five of the last six seasons.
  • Nine All-Americans between NCAA DIII Indoor and Outdoor Championships since 2004.
  • Most recent All-American was Jenna Niedermayer ’13, who finished eighth in the triple jump at the 2013 NCAA DIII Indoor Championships.
  • 11 new school indoor records and 7 outdoor records set over the last three seasons.
  • Blue Jays hold five facility records (four track, one field) at the Elizabethtown Outdoor Track & Field facility, which is being renovated with a new track this summer/fall.