The Montclair State University men’s track and field squad has been exceptional this year. Multiple members of the team have already qualified for the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Indoor Regionals which is a huge accomplishment.
Two of those athletes are seniors John Griffth and Jabez Thomas who have clearly earned this moment. At the D3 Invitational, Griffith took second in shot-put, throwing for a season-best 16.5 meters.
Griffith sticks to his routine and likes to block out outside distractions so that he can focus on his throw.
“I focus on my goals and what I want to achieve in that moment,” Griffith said. “Each meet is its own objective which is either working on a specific point of technique, distance or even just mentality wise. Focusing on my throw, kind of ignoring that outside stuff, and toning in on what I need to focus on in that meet.”
On another note, Thomas moved up to 13th nationally in triple jump which is an amazing achievement for not just him but the university as well. He ended up claiming the victory in the event and was the lone competitor in the field to go over 14 meters.
“I was not really that dedicated in high school but then when it came to college, having a coach like coach Carter to mentor me and push me compared to last year being ranked 25th or 30th to now being ranked 13th,” Thomas said. “I feel like I made a really big improvement and I can’t wait to see what else I can do.”
However, this talent that they both possess does not just come overnight. It comes with hard work and spending a lot of time working on their craft at practice. It has taken these two athletes months to years to improve their craft.
“The past couple of months to like last year I have been working on my second phase,” said Thomas. “I have been trying to find ways to hold my phases longer so I could get further into the pit.”
And for Giffith, it is been much of that same type of perseverance to get where he is now.
Junior John Griffith is having another stellar season and he placed fifth in the shot put at the Fastrack National Invitational. Danny Deronde | The Montclarion
“It has been years in the making to perfect my shot-put form,” said Griffith. “Like I said with the high school stuff, a lot of it I had to unteach myself because a lot of the techniques really just weren’t completely correct. I needed to unwind and then rewind the new stuff in, so it kind of made more sense with how my body is and the way of the new shot-put.”
Griffith and Thomas take this knowledge with them for every event they participate in, using it to make them better each time they step onto the field. These last two events on the schedule are extremely important, especially with the competition ramping up as the season grows older.
The Fastrack National Invitational was on Friday, Feb. 9, and Griffith had yet another strong outing. He placed fifth in shot-put at 15.6 meters and sixth in weight throw with 15.87 meters. On the other hand, Thomas took this event off to recuperate after getting a little banged up at the D3 Invitational.
Both Thomas and Griffth have a lot on their plate going forward, but coach Carter has a lot of faith in them to stay focused and concentrated on the task at hand.
“John is probably one of the most detail-oriented athletes I have been around,” Carter said. “He is relentless with just the little things that can change the trajectory of how you throw or how you jump.”
Carter sees some similarity between Griffith and Thomas in terms of their work ethic.
“Jabez has that fierce competitor in him the same way that John does and that is what I really appreciate with him,” Carter said. “He is willing to put the work in, doing things that are uncomfortable because he knows the capability he has to be a top competitor in this country and this conference.”
For Montclair State, it is not just Griffith and Thomas who have had stellar seasons. Many other Red Hawks have also qualified to extend their season and the athletes who have not, still have an opportunity at the conference meet.
The Red Hawks will have their final meet before regional competition on Feb. 19 where they will be looking to take their momentum into the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships.
