With two laps remaining in the 5,000-meter run at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships, Martin Hehir slipped ahead of his pack of teammates, with Jace Lowry following close behind. The freshmen runners vied for position until Lowry darted ahead of Hehir, who tailed closely behind but failed to catch up on the final lap. 

The pair finished four-tenths of a second apart, good enough for third and fourth place in the Big East.

‘He went right by me. I was feeling pretty horrible,’ Hehir said. ‘Then I just stuck right on him, but he still got me.’

The success in the Big East came as a surprise to the newcomers, but they’ll attempt to carry that momentum into the outdoor season. Before that starts, though, both Hehir and Lowry will likely wrap up their indoor seasons with a mile run at the Columbia Last Chance meet in New York City on Saturday. While the meet gives them a final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Hehir and Lowry both said their times are well off the automatic NCAA qualifying mark. But whatever the outcome, the indoor season saw both runners improve considerably in their first collegiate season after early struggles and setbacks.

At the beginning of the season, Hehir couldn’t keep up with workouts. Lowry wasn’t running due to an injury. As the year progressed, they fought their way back to competition and started their rebound season. Hehir and Lowry, who are roommates, used each other and the tight-knit group of freshmen runners to motivate themselves to turn difficulties into success.

‘(Being roommates) has worked out great,’ Hehir said. ‘We just ended up making each other want to work harder and go faster.’

Head coach Chris Fox said he wasn’t surprised by their performance in the Big East championships because of their recent progress. Lowry won the U.S. Cross Country Junior Championships three weeks ago. Hehir ran a 3,000-meter time before the Big East championships that was among the top freshmen distance runners in the country. Those two performances alone show the turnaround Hehir and Lowry have made, contributing to Fox’s optimism heading into the indoor championships.

‘I’ve seen them develop faster than any freshmen we’ve had here,’ Fox said.

Fox said the dynamic between Hehir and Lowry has pushed them to improve. They train hard together, and each one motivates the other with competition. But they also help each other when the time comes. Fox said that relationship is important to the success of a team.

‘They’re pretty competitive with each other, but they help each other out,’ Fox said. ‘That’s exactly what you need to have a great team.’

As the indoor season winds down and the outdoor season begins, Hehir and Lowry both hope to improve even more. The pair will continue to rely on each other for an extra push in competition. The prospect of beating a friend will continue to serve as a motivator for both of them.

Said Lowry: ‘In every race, I want to beat him, and he wants to beat me.’

jspramuk@syr.edu

Published on February 29, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Jacob: jspramuk@syr.edu