Maggie Czapski, senior psychology major, has had an outstanding indoor track season so far, breaking two school records in the team’s last two meets.
On Feb. 3 at the Bob Shannon Invitational, hosted by Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Czapski placed second in the indoor 3,000-meter run and set a new a school record with a time of 10:53.92. Her time breaks the previous record of 11:02.03 that Czapski herself set last year at the PAC championships.
The following week on Feb. 10 at the Baldwin Wallace Mid-February Meet, Czapski broke another school record, this time in the mile race with a 3rd place time of 5:30.40.
Czapski explained how exciting beating her own record was.
“It just shows how much progress you can make when you work hard and keep trying to get better,” Czapski said.
She worked hard in the off-season to improve by lifting weights and motivating herself to get out and run on a consistent basis.
Czapski also currently holds the school record for the indoor 5k with a time of 19:19.62 as well as the outdoor 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:22.11. She is also a member of the cross-country team.
Czapski noted that she likes the outdoor season better, and that the indoor season is like a preparation period for it. Her goal for the outdoor season is to improve her 5k time. She explained that the 5k on the track is tough mentally because of the number of laps.
Kevin Wanichko, head track coach, credits her success to her determination and excellent work ethic.
“She is always doing what is asked of her, from 12-mile-long runs on Sunday to challenging herself in workouts. Each day she comes with the right mindset on how to make herself better that day,” said Wanichko.
Czapski is originally from Cumberland, Maryland, and is a graduate of Bishop Walsh High School. She was a four-sport athlete, competing in cross-country, soccer, basketball and track.
Czapski choose to compete in track and cross country in college over her other sports because she wanted to surround herself with people who love to run as much as she does and to see how much progress she could make at the collegiate level.
On Thursday, Feb. 22, Czapski and her teammates will compete in the indoor PAC championships at Youngstown State University. She is scheduled to compete in the 3,000-meter run, mile run and distance medley relay.
Wanichko thinks that Czapski can dominate the meet.
“She has had an outstanding career at SVC and is a top three runner in our programs history, so I would love for her to win a first conference title in one of the events,” Wanichko said.
Czapski is confident in her ability as well and explained that she prepares for race days by getting a good night’s sleep and listening to music to keep her relaxed.
Her favorite memory for running at Saint Vincent was going to the NCAA Mideast Regional Meet for cross country last fall.
“It was such a big meet, there were over 400 runners there. It was cool to be surrounded by so many talented runners,” Czapski said.
After graduation, Czapski plans to attend graduate school to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology.
Photos: SVC Athletics