This season, the Keene State Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track team has been sparking up quite the conversation by breaking several school records.
Indoor track and field athletes often have it tough in the wintertime here on the east coast. There is no dedicated indoor facility for the KSC track so it can be tough to get the whole team together during training, according to previous reporting by The Equinox.
Head Coach Dan Roark said the current team is “one of the best full track teams Keene has ever had.” This is not an easy thing to do considering Keene has been one of the most accomplished track teams in New England. With 24 All-Americans, 11 national championships and appearances in the NCAA DIII Hall Of Fame, this season has been historic.
There have been six records broken so far this season. Roark mentioned this has not been done in 25+ years. The men’s team have broken five records in the 60 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, 4×200 meter relay and pole vault. The women’s team has broken a record as well with the 200 meter.
First-year Keely Giordano has been a standout athlete on the women’s side. She broke the Women’s 200-meter record on January 25 with a time of 26.43. Giordano mentioned she is not done and is striving to break her personal record of 25.90. Giordano’s other goals for the season include placing in the Little East Conference Championships and qualifying for the All New England Championships. In addition to track, Giordano plays soccer.
“It means a lot to me. In high school, I always wanted to experience that feeling of breaking a school record but was not able to break one because of injuries. It was such a surreal moment breaking that 200-meter record and I will never forget it,” Giordano said. “Ever since committing to Keene I looked at the indoor records and told myself that I could possibly beat the 200-meter record and I crushed that goal.”
Many athletes have mentioned the team dynamic with the recent success. Junior Kyle Thomas said that he committed to Keene to build on the history and be a part of it himself. He transferred from the DI level at Central Connecticut State University to Keene and said he feels he has made the right decision coming to KSC.
Thomas has been a part of two records so far this season. He ran in the men’s 4×200 meter dash alongside Aidan Law, Jonathan DeAguiar and Keith O’Donnell. This record of 1:31.18 was broken early this season on Dec. 8, 2024. Thomas has also broken the 60-meter with a time of 6.87. After suffering a bad injury last year, Thomas has bounced back with each record this year. He set the record earlier in the season and proceeded to break the record again.
One of the most unique records broken this year is sophomore Caden Latulippe’s performance in the pole vault. Before coming to Keene State, Latulippe had never done pole vault. In his time here, he has now been able to write his name in the record books with a score of 14 feet, 1.25 inches (4.30 meters.)
Friends and family have been a large influence on the athletes. Giordano accredited her parents and brother for pushing her. Thomas said his aunt, uncle and cousins have been a part of his success as well. Thomas said his brother is a running back at a DI school so they have been pushing each other all their lives.
The Keene State Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track team has been at the front of the page all over KSC and Keene media. Thomas said he hopes people will start “showing more love” to the team as they continue on their historic season.
Carson Flake can be contacted at
cflake@kscequinox.com
