Sports
TRACK & FIELD
henna Fatica breaks records
ALEC ITALIANO
sports editor
Junior Jenna Fatica re-wrote
the record books this past
weekend as she broke two indi
vidual track records in the
three events she ran at Mt.
Union. This earned her the En
terprise Rent-A-Car athlete of
the week award and an excel
lent start to the indoor track
and field season.
"It is an honor to hold several
records at Behrend," Fatica
said. "It definitely proves that
my hard work and dedication
has paid off, and I hope to con
tinue 'to improve on those
records until I graduate."
The track and field team trav
eled to Mt. Union college for
the Jim Wuske Invitational Sat
urday. Fatica not only broke
two school, meet and facility
records, but took the gold in the
event as well.
The three events Fatica ran
were the distance medley relay,
the 500-meter dash, and the
4x4 relay. She started off her
day running a split time of 2
minutes and 25.7 seconds in the
distance medley, which set a
new school record. She then
went on to break a second
school record in the 500 with a
time of 1:20.61. She finished
her day running in the 4x4
relay, placing second with her
teammates.
Fatica, a marketing major,
dreams of getting involved with
sports marketing at some point
in her career. This is her third
year running track for the
Behrend Lions, but she is also a
well-decorated cross-country
SWIMMING & DIVING
AMCC champlosnhip preview
" - tie women's swimming and diving team em
bark on defending their three-time AMCC title
coming up next Wednesday.
The Lady Lion swimmers are "going for year
four," claims sophomore Julie Cook, who special
izes in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke, as well
as the 50-yard free-stroke and relay.
The women's swimming and diving team is as
strong as years past, and of course, a team can
always have more depth. The coaching staff, led
by seven-year head coach Jen Wallace is very
confident in their team this year.
"They have come together as a team. They
have more heart than any team that I have
coached, and they care about this," Wallace said.
The coach is refering to the upcoming AMCC
Championships at Grove City, otherwise known
as the Grove City Invitational.
This championship, like all AMCC tournam
nets, will make or break Behrend's season.
"Our girls have the potential. I hate to make
predictions. It will matter how we swim, and it's
all a matter of how the cards fall," Wallace said.
"But our heart and effort is there."
Daniel Smith / The Behrend Beacon
Junior Jenna Fatica looks to
further her record-breaking
success the NCAA tournament
later this season.
runner and has been a part of
the All-AMCC team for the past
two years. In high school, Fat
ica placed fifth in the state in
the 400 meter dash as well her
senior year to add to her ath
letic resume, and has been im
proving ever since.
"Each meet, I learn from my
mistakes and what I can do bet
ter at, and I set goals to correct
them the next time I compete.
Running is very mental, so it is
Behrend is coming off of three straight losses
Many on the team believe they will bounce back
SEAN NEELY
staff writer
"We need to be close as a team, and continue
to work hard. Our main goal is to be AMCC
champs," said sophomore Julie Cook.
Hard work and effort are what the women's
swimming and diving team strive for.
At the invitational, Behrend will compete
against all teams in their AMCC conference first
and then against PAC conference teams.
As a team, Behrend goes in to the champi
onship with perhaps less momentum than they
want, but like the team, Coach Wallace is confi
dent that "effort breeds results."
The men's team is also working on taking their
fourth straight AMCC title after winning two of
their last three matches. One of these wins being
against Mt. Union in home waters at the Junker
Center.
Notable players to look out for in the AMCC
championship meet are senior diver Steve
Graves and freshman Hunter Backenstose who
both won the athlete-of-the-week award earlier
in the season.
Both the men's and women's teams ended with
5-6 records, but have history on their side as they
travel down to Grove City next week.
important for me to be as con
fident as possible until the race
starts," Fatica said. "Once the
gun goes off, I trust my training
and hope it will serve me well."
This indoor season is ex
tremely key for track athletes to
stay in shape during the off sea
son. However, there are a few
differences between running
indoors and outdoors.
"The track length, which is
200 meters indoors and 400
meters outdoors, is one major
difference," Fatica said. "Al
though I, as well as the rest of
the team, prefer to run out
doors because of there being a
400 meter track and being in
better shape since it is further
into the season. It is always
nice to not have to worry about
running in bad weather during
the indoor season."
Track athletes train year
round, even in a city as snowy
as Erie. These runners stay in
top shape from fall to spring
and are constantly improving at
their sport.
"Not having an indoor track
to train in everyday definitely
comes with some disadvan
tages and makes training a lot
more difficult," Fatica said. "We
are basically outside everyday
until it's literally too dangerous
to run, and we are forced to run
on treadmills. We are used to
this though, and if anything,
this harsh weather makes us
tougher competitors."
Fatica will be looking to
break more records at the
NCAA championships coming
up Feb. 27 at Rose-Hulman In
stitute of Technology located in
the state of Indiana.
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