SEASON PREVIEW: Men's Track and Field opens at TLU Relays Saturday

(Story Courtesy of Will McEvoy)

IRVING, TEXAS – This Saturday, the University of Dallas men's track and field team will head to Texas Lutheran University to kick off the 2017 season. Once again the Crusaders are led by Head Coach Matthew Barber now entering his third season with the program. The Crusaders are returning to the track after a record-breaking 2016 season and are looking to build upon that success. To continue this success the Crusaders have their sights set on moving up a spot at the SCAC conference meet; which means the men will be fighting to claim top three.

The Crusaders' roster boasts several veterans prepared to lead the team to another record-breaking season.  Prince Giadolor (Rockwall, Texas) became the first SCAC conference champion in any event (100 Meters – 10.83) for the Crusaders since the university joined the SCAC. Giadolor has hopes of repeating that performance and also has sights on the 200m title, which he broke coaches' record last year at the SCAC (21.87). Also returning are sprint relay members Tom Pierick (Des Moines, Iowa) and Dominic Del Curto (Oakdale, Calif.) who seek to lead the relay to a pair of university records.  In the field, Paulo Salazar (Dallas, Texas) and Marcos Carmona (San Antonio, Texas) - University Record Holder Hammer Throw (102'6'') - both grew immensely towards the end of the '16 season are expected to build upon that growth and pick up several points for the team.

The newcomers to the team are also expected to help the team build on its past successes. Freshman John James (Metairie, La.) performed very well in the fall Cross Country season and is poised to bring those strong performances to the track. The Crusaders also picked up Kevin McGuirk (Front Royal, Va.), a transfer, who the team sees as a great addition to the hurdles and relay squads.

There are two meets to especially look forward to this season for the Crusaders. Both the Trinity Open and the TLU Bulldog Relays will be great early tests against SCAC competition.

QUOTABLES

"Bringing motivation to each and every day. Which means bringing tenacity to workouts, focus to the weight room, eating well and eating enough, sleeping plenty, and getting the reading done before lectures. In other words, we as a team need to be motivated, healthy adults if we want to succeed this season." - Coach Barber's Goals/Focus Points for the Crusaders

"The brightness and the work ethic of the student-athletes. I'm an alum of the program and the quality of people is the same now as it was when I was a student. They are bright, witty, goofy, and work incredibly hard. My favorite part of coaching at UD is being apart of these people's lives." - Coach Barber's Favorite Part of Coaching at Dallas