Departments across Elon University united to host 1,000 athletes, coaches and staff across 58 events during the 2024 CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held May 10-11 at the Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex.
Elon University’s women’s track and field team took second place at this year’s CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship held at Elon’s Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex. Jette Beermann earned her second gold medal of the weekend and Piper Jons had a record-shattering performance in the 400 as the Elon University track & field team placed second.
Elon University hosted the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Track & Field Championship May 10-11, a two-day event featuring 58 events, including trials and finals with close to 1,000 athletes, coaches and staff across up to seven venues. Included within that number were scores of Elon student-athletes, who had the opportunity to compete for a championship at their home track.
How does Elon manage such a massive slate of events? Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mark Elliston says it takes “an all-hands-on-deck” effort.
“It really gives the visiting teams and athletes, as well as their fans, peace of mind knowing that if it’s a championship event at Elon University, it will run well and will be first-class,” Elliston said.
First-Class Preparation
With great preparation, Elliston said, coaches can focus on competition and have the peace of mind that other logistics will be well-run. For this championship at Elon’s Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex, preparation began one year ago with the resurfacing and repainting of the running track surface, as well as new piping and drainage to mitigate and prevent standing water.
“Hosting a conference championship is an outstanding testament and accomplishment for what a university can do, and it takes a lot of people,” said Sports Turf Manager Michael LaPlaca. “It takes a lot of hard work, and we get it done.”
Leading up to the event, LaPlaca and his crew managed a punch list of smaller and larger items to assure that facilities were ready. The list included maintaining the health of the grass in the weeks prior and mowing in the days before, draining and cleaning the steeplechase pits, painting the lines for the javelin competitions and so much more.
LaPlaca and his crew even went to automotive services to weld a long-jump push-off board. Why automotive services? “We go where the expertise is,” LaPlaca said, and at Elon, automotive services has welding expertise.
Putting together a top-notch championship is a point of pride for those involved. “It’s a showcase for our campus to have all of those folks and their parents and their friends coming to Elon and, hopefully walking away–maybe not with a championship, we’d like to have that–but walking away saying, you know, that was a great experience,” says Faith Shearer, senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator. “That’s important to us.”
Shearer oversees seven athletic programs at Elon, as well as equity and inclusion work, gender and equity monitoring and more. She says that track and field is particularly unique because of the technical expertise involved across so many different events.
A Diverse Display of Talents
“One of the things that I personally love about track is that you’ve got all of these different events, and you’ve got all these different types of athletes,” Shearer said. “So you’ve got shot putters and people who throw the hammer; and you’ve got these distance runners, and the sprinters and jumpers and different physical demands different body types, usually kids from all kinds of backgrounds. Track and field is a sport that It doesn’t matter if you’ve got money or you don’t have money. Track is something that most people can participate in and have access to.”
Those organizing the events must make sure all the right people are in the room signing off on the smallest details across a swath of events, including making sure the lines are precise on the track and runners are running correct distances, and that volunteers of the event understand their assigned operations, like lifting the high jump every time a new round begins.
“Our plan is always that our coaches are able to just coach their teams on the day-of and not worry about whether or not the hurdles are set up at the right time,” Shearer said.
“I have so much trust in every single person organizing these events. They know what needs to get done and it all comes together,” says Robert Stewart, assistant athletics director for event management, facilities & capital projects.
“There are so many people on this campus that are really, really good at their jobs and everyone really cares and wants to help. That plays a big role in making sure everything comes together.”
When Elon hosts visiting teams, Stewart often hears praise for the beauty and aesthetics of Elon’s campus and aims to emulate that in his own work. “It shows that campus takes a lot of pride in how it presents itself and how it looks, and I try to model that when we host events and games–that we are taking pride in how we put on our events or championships or games to reflect the high standards that campus has,” Stewart said.
Elliston appreciates the opportunity to compete at home and offer a showcase to local communities during this free two-day event. He says much went into making this event a success and that it’s great to witness. “It offers a positive outcome all-around,” Elliston said.
This was only the second time this season the team competed at home. “We want our student-athletes to have the opportunity to compete at home – basketball has 15 home games, baseball around 30, but track and field is different,” Stewart said.
For the Town of Elon
As much as the track and field championship is a showcase of athletic excellence at Elon and in the conference, it is also a showcase of the people who make Elon the community that it is. The people who recognize that our athletes, our fans, our coaches deserve nothing short of the best. And a recognition that this is as much a community event and space as anything else.
“During the championship, we close down the track to the community during preparation, set up and for the meet, and we don’t take that lightly,” Shearer said. “We try to make sure that we limit it to the shortest amount of time that we need, because there are people who are over here just about every morning getting their morning run in or their morning walk.”
How do you assure a safe and efficient championship that balances the needs of community and competitors, safety and inclusion and facilities and campus beauty? It is all about assuring that all hands are on deck and that we leverage the many people on this campus that are really, really good at their jobs.