SU indoor track & field has one final meet to fight for the top of the conference, and one thrower prepares for national competition
By Micah Ernest
Villager Sports Reporter
Stevenson’s track & field teams have had an explosive season this winter during their six-meet indoor season, setting multiple school records and impressive conference and regional rankings.
One of the most impressive individuals has been junior Nathan Williams, a thrower from Mechanicsville, Maryland, located in the southern region of the state.
Williams has cemented his place in the SU history books this year. Nearly every meet Williams breaks his own school records leaving him ranked second in the weight throw and third in the shotput in the Mid-Atlantic Conference and second and fourth respectively in the Mid-Atlantic regional rankings.
Most impressive of all, Williams’ throws have landed him at 16th in the nation in the indoor weight throw.
“Watching Nate every weekend is a privilege,” teammate and roommate Jai Raccioppi said. “I’m excited for him to continue his dominance.”
The indoor season reaches a crescendo the next three weekends, starting at the Mid-Atlantic Conference championship meet in Reading, Pennsylvania. After that, it’s the All-Atlantic Region championships in New York City on March 3-4 and the NCAA Division III championships March 10-11 in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition to Williams, the team is led by men’s sprinters Cameron Summers and Jai Raccioppi, and women’s mid- to long-distance runners Jasmine Wilson and Isabelle Pardew, all of whom hope to bring home medals from the MAC conference meet.
After MAC championships, Williams will compete in the AARTFC meet in New York. If his rank stays among the top 20 in the country, Williams will finish the indoor season in Birmingham at the NCAA Championships.
Williams started his track and field career as a high school freshman when a friend convinced him to try out. His love for the sport started immediately that first season.
“I wasn’t good at first, but that’s really where the passion started,” Williams said. “I knew I could see myself doing this long term.”
It is Williams’ passion and attitude that drive him to constantly improve.
“I’m never satisfied. It’s such a mindset thing” Williams said. “I have a mark that I want to hit, so every record says I’m getting closer to my mark, but I can’t stop yet.”
Williams and the other throwers work diligently at their craft with four weightlifting sessions and daily throwing practice every week with throwing assistant coach John Urdahl. With the final meets of the indoor season rapidly approaching, the team does not plan on slowing down.
“I don’t think training changes,” Williams said. “I’ve just been more zoned in at practice and super focused on the technical aspects of everything.”
Williams is not alone in being highly ranked among the competition. Sprinters Cameron Summers and Raccioppi have had remarkable seasons of their own. Summers currently leads the MAC in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, and Raccioppi is not far behind at fifth in both events and in the 400-meter as well.
Summers has offered senior leadership and mentored the members of the 4 x 200-meter relay to a first overall seed in the MAC with a time of 1:33.63. This relay has had a dominant season under Summers, sometimes even beating second place by a margin of more than 8 seconds.
“He always knows how to motivate myself and the team,” Raccioppi said. “I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far, but we’re just getting started.”
Williams likes his and the team’s chances of bringing home some hardware from Pennsylvania.
“We have a good team and if we perform at the level I know we can, I think we have a very good chance to take MACs,” he said.
Streaming of the MAC championship will be available at https://gomacsports.tv.
Top 10 MAC Ranked Mustangs
60-meter
Cameron Summers – 1st – 6.92
Jai Raccioppi – 5th – 7.15
200-meter
Cameron Summers – 1st – 22.33
Jai Raccioppi – 5th – 22.96
400-meter
Jai Raccioppi – 5th – 52.20
Fabrice Saint-Hillien – 7th – 52.60
Jasmine Wilson – 5th – 1:01.23
500-meter
Fabrice Saint-Hillien – 3rd – 1:09.50
Kadin Egbert – 1:17.19
1000-meter
Johnathan Womack – 3rd – 2:42.72
Mile
Isabelle Pardew – 8th – 5:23.65
3000-meter
Isabelle Pardew – 4th – 10:34.33
5000m
Isabelle Pardew – 1st – 17:58.77
4 x 200-meter Relay
Summers, Raccioppi, Eldridge, Oyeniran – 1st – 1:33.63
Wilson, Kepler, Hess, Day – 10th – 1:57.61
4 x 400-meter Relay
Hamilton, Saint Hillien, Reimert, Raccioppi – 7th – 3:37.13
Wilson, Swann, Day, Kepler – 5th – 4:24.84
High Jump
Conner Hall – 9th – 1.76m
Shot Put
Nathan Williams – 3rd – 15.62m
Weight Throw
Nathan Williams – 2nd – 18.14m
Makayla Vaughns – 4th – 13.67m
Top 15 Regionally Ranked Mustangs
60-meter
Cameron Summers – 2nd – 6.92
Jai Raccioppi – 15th – 7.15
200-meter
Cameron Summers – 1st – 21.94
Jai Raccioppi – 9th – 22.56
400-meter
Jasmine Wilson – 12th – 1:00.42
3000-meter
Isabelle Pardew – 15th – 10:28.92
5000-meter
Isabelle Pardew – 7th – 17:50.58
4×400-meter Relay
Wilson, Swann, Day, Kepler – 13th – 4:21.37
4×200-meter Relay
Shot Put
Nathan Williams – 4th – 15.62m
Weight Throw
Nathan Williams – 2nd – 18.14m
Makayla Vaughn – 6th – 13.67m
