(left to right) Redshirt freshman Paul Stamm runs at the Bellarmine Open on Jan. 20, 2023. Junior Nick Lewis runs at the North Alabama Showcase on Sep. 16, 2022.
By: Max Able
'Records are meant to be broken.’ It’s an old cliché that anyone who follows sports has heard countless times. Not many have experienced its like Bellarmine track and field athlete Nick Lewis, who set program records in his last two meets, but only kept them for a few hours.
On Feb. 3 Bellarmine track and field competed in its final indoor home meet of 2023. Lewis, a junior from Louisville, came in first in the 3,000-meter men’s open with a time of 8.18.15 in the early session. This was also good enough to break the program-record of 8.23.91, set by Robert Sandlin in 2014.
Lewis said he was excited by his record-breaking performance but also knew his record likely wouldn’t stand very long.
“’That’s not going to be fast enough.’ That was my initial response,” he said. “I was happy I got it [the record] but I definitely wanted to be a little bit faster, set the bar a little bit higher.”
The reason Lewis wanted to set the bar higher was because he knew his teammate Paul Stamm would be running in the later heat. Stamm, a redshirt freshman from Indianapolis, said Lewis didn’t expect his record to last long.
“He [Lewis] was all excited and I congratulated him, and he’s like, 'Ah, I’ve only got it [the record] for a couple more hours,’” he said.
As Lewis predicted, Stamm broke his three-hour-old record by posting a time of 8.14.01 in the 3,000-meter men’s invite.
The following week, the Knights traveled to Allendale, Michigan, for the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Feb. 10 and 11. Again, Lewis produced a record-breaking performance. He finished the 5,000-meter race in 14.29.68, breaking the previous record set by Chris Striegel in 2016 (14.37.98). However, for the second week in a row, Lewis’ record lasted less than four hours, as Stamm reset the record with a time of 14.14.68.
Stamm said he’s thrilled to hold the records but cares more about the performance of the team than his personal accomplishments.
“I’m really proud to have the records, but it’s not something I focus too much on,” he said. “We’re all trying to elevate the program, so it’s just kind of one step in the right direction [toward] being the top program hopefully in this area and in the conference.”
Lewis and Stamm haven’t been the only athletes breaking records. The men’s track and field team has broken 21 program records in 2023. Head coach Chase Broughton said the successful season shows how far the program has come.
“It says a lot about where we are as a program. We’re kind of coming out of that transition [to Division I) phase,” he said. “I’m super proud of our athletes. They’ve been super coachable.”
The Knights will have an opportunity to establish themselves as one of the top programs in the conference at the Atlantic Sun Indoor Championship in Lynchburg, Va. on Feb. 24 and 25. The Knights begin outdoor competition at home with the Jim Vargo Invitational on March 17 at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium.
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