Catholic University 2026 Track Has a Successful Trip To McDaniel University In Case/Carpenter Invitational
Catholic University continued its march to the conference and national championship races. The Cardinals visited McDaniel University in Maryland and participated in the Case/Carpenter Invitational on Friday, April 24. Several season, personal, and conference bests were set.
In this article, we will delve into a highly relevant topic. In recent track meets, Catholic University has used pacers and rabbits. The terms are unique to distance running, usually on a track. Sometimes they have to do with the runners in the race, sometimes they have to do with the rabbits and pacers. Why do you think track teams use these methods?
Catholic University at the Case/Carpenter Invitational
There were several season, personal, and conference bests set in this meet for the Catholic University athletes. Here are some of them. In the field events, Maggie McNulty had a personal best hammer throw of 41.1 meters. In the track events, Matt Haugh ran a 10:30.50 in the 3000-meter race for a personal best. In the women’s 1500-meter race, Bridgid Cavanaugh recorded a personal best in a time of 4:55.32. Isabal Doran also got a personal best in that race with a time of 5:42.24.
In the men’s 1500-meter race, Tim Sweeney, a freshman athlete at Catholic University, had a personal best of 4:18.91. In that same race, Matthew McCormick set a personal record with a time of 4:37.99. In the men’s 5000-meter race, Joey Locke won and had a season-best time of 15:33.32. Richard Harrington set a personal best time of 15:57.26.
In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Lauryn Pearson got a time of 15.41. In that same race, both Alicia Vo and Rachel Sprauer set season-best times. In the men’s 400-meter race, Colin Matthews recorded a personal best of 51.63 seconds. In the women’s 800-meter race, Sara Roberts got a personal best time of 2:39.06. In the men’s 800-meter race, Brady Falcon got a personal best time of 1:58.83.
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Kiera Webster got a personal best of 1:10.52. In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, Gabe Devaney got a personal best time of 56.05. There were more races to go in this lightning-delayed track meet; however, this sample gives the reader an idea of what transpired in this meet for Catholic University.
Tim Sweeney
Tim Sweeney is a freshman runner at Catholic University. He runs both cross country and track and field. He is a bioengineering major and was very accomplished in track in high school. He was a district champion in both the 1600 & 3200 meter races. He qualified for the state championships. He was a six-time All-District and a four-time All-Region. He was a member of the National Honor Society and an honors student.
Rabbits and Pacers
Rabbits and pacers are unique to distance running, usually on the track. They are different concepts. Rabbits are runners that run out ahead of the pack when the pack wants to hit a certain time. You will often see a rabbit when the runners in the field want to hit a world record. The job of the rabbit is to run the target time, usually for three-quarters of the race, and then bow out. Being a rabbit could have something to do with the rabbits themselves. If the runner is injured or not feeling well, it might be good for them to run only a portion of the race.
Pacers are different. Pacers are usually dedicated to a specific runner, maybe a runner who is not familiar with a distance or one who is running that distance recently at an uneven pace. In either case, a pacer will run with that runner to help them make an even time. This could also have to do with the health of a pacer. If that runner is not healthy, but is faster than the athlete they are pacing, going at the slower pace is like having a race off. This can especially be the case if the pacer already ran a race earlier in the meet.
