Sports
LEADERS: Long jumper Melissa Skevington ’10 and thrower Jacob Gardner ’11 hope to lead the Yellowjackets to success in track and field. (Photo: Brandon Vick)Melissa Skevington ’10 and Jacob Gardner ’11 clearly come from different ends of the track and field spectrum.
The sleek, nimble Skevington has found success in the long and triple jumps, while the muscular Gardner has excelled in the weight throws.
Skevington, a former MVP for Emma Willard High School in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is something of an old pro when it comes to competing in track and field. Gardner, a football, basketball, and baseball star at Wellsville High School, had his sights set on the gridiron when he arrived at Rochester.
But despite their different athletic backgrounds, the two have the same goals in mind this winter as they head into NCAA Division III indoor track and field season.
Skevington, who as a sophomore, qualified for the NCAA indoor championships and broke Rochester’s triple-jump record, has set her sights high—for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She hopes to finish in the top three in the long and triple jumps at the state championships and earn return berths at the NCAAs.
“I am nervous,” the brain and cognitive sciences major says. “I know this is my last year. When it’s over, I’m pretty much done with track and field. If I want to do it, it has to be done this year. But I’m looking forward to it. I’ll put everything into it and try my hardest.”
Compared to Skevington, Gardner is a track and field novice. A series of concussions and other injuries brought his football career to a halt so he tried his hand at the weight throws. Acclimating to the new sport took some time.
“It didn’t come completely naturally,” he says.
But with the help of assistant coach Paul Rose, Gardner focused on the fundamentals of throwing and began to see results. As a junior, he placed fifth in the weight throw at the ECAC indoor championships, then placed second in the hammer throw at the state outdoor meet.
Now that he’s built a solid foundation, Gardner, like Skevington, is shooting for the NCAA championships.
“When the trophies are on the line, that’s when I really focus and get into it,” says the geology major.
In addition to their individual aspirations, both Gardner and Skevington have shouldered leadership responsibilities. Each has earned a captaincy, and their coaches and fellow athletes are depending on them to guide a track squad that’s loaded with potential.
Sam Albert ’01, ’02W (MS), the director of track and field at Rochester, says both are up to the task.
“They’re great examples for other kids at the University of Rochester,” Albert says. “They’ve really stepped into leadership roles for us.”
Ryan Whirty writes about sports for Rochester Review.
