By Hannah Bartlebaugh, Staff Writer
Wheaton College junior Isaac Bledsoe broke a 71-year-old school record at the Wheaton Invitational track and field meet on March 31 at McCully Stadium, the first of several records he has broken this semester.
Bledsoe, a civil engineering major, ran 21.41 seconds in the men’s 200-meter dash. The previous record was set by Richard Hollatz in 1955, who ran it in 21.54 seconds.
Before his record-breaking run, Bledsoe competed in the long jump and the 100-meter dash, finishing second in both. It was then time for the 200-meter race, which he had not yet run that season. He was competing against Randy Reed of North Central College, who had bested him in the race of previous seasons.
Bledsoe said that he had a feeling that he was going to have to run really quickly to stay competitive in the heat.
“I just got out of the blocks, and I went out faster than I had probably ever done before,” he said. “After the curve, I was able to open up and just get my stride and keep running.”
After the race, Bledsoe said one of his teammates told him he had broken the school record, and everyone was celebrating with him.
Assistant track and field coach Brianna Hawthorne said that the drop in time was especially surprising due to the conditions. The meet moved from April 2 to March 31 because of the weather, and even on that day, the start was delayed due to lightning.
Head track and field coach David Walford said that it’s common for athletes to not always meet their initial expectations, but Bledsoe’s expectations have come to fruition.
Hawthorne said that they knew that Bledsoe was capable of achieving this record. Hawthorne said that Bledsoe stayed toe-to-toe with Reed throughout the first 170 meters.
“At that point, it made us think, ‘Oh man, he’s about to run something crazy,’” she said.
Bledsoe has continued his record-breaking streak.
On April 16, Bledsoe broke his own record in the 200-meter dash at the UW-La Crosse Phil Esten Challenge, with a time of 21.40 seconds. On April 19, at the Don Church Twilight Meet at McCully Stadium, Bledsoe also broke the school record for the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.46 seconds. This is the fastest time by a CCIW runner in the 100-meter dash this spring. The previous school record of 10.64 seconds was set by Jim Adare in 1967.
Looking forward, Bledsoe hopes to place at the CCIW conference meet, and to perhaps one day qualify for the national championships. He also credited his teammates for always supporting him, regardless of whether he had a great meet or not. “I think that’s a really valuable thing and it tells a lot about the culture that we have on the team,” he said.
