Photographs By Adam Atkinson; Photo Composite By Dale Mack
In just two years of competing on the Lafayette track and field team, Ida (pronounced “Ee-da”) Moczerniuk has already broken multiple Leopard sprinting records—and continues to lap her own times. Currently, the sprinter holds the 60-meter, 100-meter, and indoor 200- meter records; she wants to chase down the outdoor 200-meter record this spring.
The earliest record she broke was a memorable one: During her first year, in a tight 60-meter indoor Rivalry race, she edged out Lehigh and set a school record with a time of 7.72 seconds. She’s also proud of her latest 200-meter run at the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, when she beat out the 24.71-second record by Devin Smith ’16 after getting a PR of 24.60 seconds. (While there, she also nabbed first place in the 60-meter dash with a new PR.)
“Being in the Patriot League, I want to make sure that teams do not underestimate us,” Moczerniuk says. “I want to grow with my team and change the rhetoric through my races.” After her spring season ends with the Pards, she’ll fly to Poland and compete in the Polish U23 Championships in July. (Moczerniuk, a dual citizen, was born there but grew up in the U.S.; she fluently reads, writes, and speaks the language.) Her summer goal is to have a 200-meter time that qualifies her for the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships.
The 19-year-old biology major took to the Metzgar Campus track to share her tips about how to fly on two feet.
1.
About an hour before every race, Ida Moczerniuk readies herself by visualizing her sprinting goals. “There’s a lot of mental preparation that goes into my execution,” Moczerniuk says. “I take that aspect of my race very seriously.”
2.
The block start is arguably the most important part of the performance. Moczerniuk says it’s when she unlocks her proper stance and mental strength: “Very often, it boils down to one word—push.”
3.
In this position, with her head down, she completes key checkpoints: laying out hands, flattening her back, and making sure both knees are locked into right angles.
4.
“Exploding from the blocks is all about displacement with your hips,” she says. “I’m trying to push my hips out as far as I can.”
5.
Where Moczerniuk can make the most impact is with her first five steps, in which she tries to cover the most ground possible. “It’s a little bit counterintuitive because you have to be patient,” she says, “and you don’t want to be patient when you’re running fast.”
6.
Once she hits her stride, she dials into the positioning of her arms, making sure her elbows are tucked in.
7.
Moczerniuk is at her best when she focuses on her own pace—not her competition. “I’m there to race against me,” Moczerniuk says. “At this point, I’m enjoying running and pushing toward the finish line.”
