Despite Its Best, Women's Relay Team Falls Short

Author: rich Kahner


The Middlebury women's distance medley entered the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships last Friday with one goal in mind: to put themselves in a position to qualify for the national championships. En route to shaving a remarkable 14 seconds off their season best time, they did just that — but their fate still hung in the air.

Having missed the automatic qualifying time by a mere two seconds, the girls were left wondering if their time was strong enough to place them among the elite. After myriad hours spent churning out miles on roads windswept with snow, all the relay team could do was wait.

Most of Middlebury's remaining indoor track and field athletes saw their fine season end last weekend during the ECAC championships held at Tufts University. The women's distance medley made up of Maryanne Porter '04, Meredith Bazirgan '02, Adri Logalbo '03 and Michela Adrian '03, despite their fantastic time, was among this group.

The women effectively went "on the bubble" when they posted a time of 12:10.09. This time was good enough to place them in the uncertain category of provisional qualifier, but it fell short of the automatic qualifying time (12:08) and a guaranteed trip to nationals. The bubble burst when the final lists appeared Monday night, and Middlebury was not included in the field of 11.

Even though they did not qualify, the girls have no regrets. "We all approached the race in the best way possible," Logalbo said of the team's efforts. "When we got to the line we put it all out there."

NCAA officials, the people who decide how many provisional qualifiers compete in nationals, are leery whenever a race grows to over 10 relay teams. The Middlebury women remained 14th in the national standings after Friday.

"We knew it was a long shot," Logalbo added. Regardless, the relay team blew away their season best of 12:24 and ran to a third place finish at ECACs, finishing their long successful campaign in stunning fashion.

Now Adrian, having qualified for nationals two weeks ago at Open New England's, remains the lone Panther representing the indoor team. She will participate in the 5000-meter race during the NCAA championships this upcoming weekend in Ohio. Adrian hopes to be in contention for a national title and improve on her ninth place showing in the 5,000-meter from last year's championships.