Thirty-three hundredths of a second. The time it takes to blink.

That’s how close senior sprinter Justin Juniel and the 4x100m relay team came to beating the Marquette all-time record of 40.71 seconds at the outdoor Big East championships last season.  

This season, after Big East champion sprinter Aaron Hughes graduated, first-year sprinter Bobby King is the one running in his place. But Juniel is confident the record is still well within reach. 

“We’ve had conversations amongst ourselves, and we really feel like we can do some damage,” Juniel said. “All of us collectively have gotten faster as a group.” 

Indeed, they have.

A relay team that also includes junior sprinter Danny Olsen and sophomore sprinter Frankie McGee, two guys who have had record-setting campaigns thus far. 

Olsen is coming off an indoor season where he became the second Golden Eagle sprinter in a row to be a Big East champion in the 200m with a time of 21.25.

McGee and Juniel both ran their personal best in the 100m at the Joyce Morton-Kief Invite on Mar 28. After the meet, Juniel’s new PR now sits at 10.86, nearly 0.5 seconds faster than when he was a member of his lone All-Big East outdoor team in 2022-23. Juniel says this is the best he’s felt in his career. 

“I’ve been very intentional with my training, with my eating, and my recovery,” Juniel said. “I just wanted to go out and not have any regrets.”

For King, learning from an experienced runner like Juniel has made a huge difference early in his college career. Helping him run his new personal best in the 400m at the Marquette Invitational with a time of 48.17. 

“He is very supportive, very timely, makes sure everything goes smooth,” King said. “He’s never late to anything, great role model for everybody.” 

While having a leader like Juniel around has helped King grow as a runner, it has also had a huge impact on the way both he and the team practice.  

“He’s always pushing me, no extra rest,” King said. “Get right to it.” 

Without the senior leadership from Hughes this season, it’s Juniel who has become both a leader for the sprint group and one of the team’s captains. This includes not only overseeing the sprint group, but also the entire team. 

“Especially with this group of guys, they are incredibly talented,” Juniel said. “For me, it was just a matter of trying to make sure we can have our interests align, so that we can achieve big things.” 

Juniel knows he’s working with a special group, and with his career at Marquette winding down, there aren’t any other guys he would rather spend his time with. 

“Those guys are all awesome personalities to have on the team,” Juniel said. “They are making my last year incredibly fun.” 

Trying to break a school record doesn’t come without its challenges, though. Nagging injuries have plagued the 4×100 squad. 

Olsen has dealt with a hamstring injury, and King just returned after sitting out five weeks with an arm injury, which caused him to miss the Big East Indoor Championships. King said that having his teammates around eased the pain. 

“I couldn’t swing my arms, I couldn’t run, I basically couldn’t do any lifting,” King said. “I think our team chemistry…it’s pretty ridiculous…everyone is so supportive.” 

Like King, Juniel is grateful for all the people that he has been able to meet as a member of the Marquette program, something he will take with him well past college. 

“I think just the connections, the relationships, the friendships that I have been able to build,” Juniel said. “I can carry those relationships with me for the rest of my life.” 

Those connections that Juniel has made with his teammates, especially the sprinters, make their quest for the record that much easier.

The meet that Juniel is looking forward to the most is the historic Drake Relays next week. A meet with so much history and high-level talent, it’s the perfect time for him to showcase his skills. 

“I’m incredibly excited, this is one of the meets I look forward to every year,” Juniel said. “I feel like we have a lot of momentum.”

Although his success on the track is what brought him to Marquette, for Juniel, the people he’s met and the relationships that he’s made are what he’ll leave with. 

“Whenever I think about my career as a whole,” Juniel said. “Typically, it’s the people that I’ve met, the experiences that I’ve been able to have with those people, more so than the success on the track.” 

A school record would put the cherry on top, though.

This article was written by Lukas Schulze. He can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @LukasschulzeMU.