Track stars keep stride

Author: Zamir Ahmed

The Middlebury men's and women's indoor track teams recently completed a busy week, competing in three separate meets throughout the region. The team performed well in each meet, gaining valuable experience for the rest of the year and getting the opportunity to size themselves up against the rest of their NESCAC competition.

The team first traveled to Wesleyan College on Jan. 15 to participate in the Wesleyan Invitational. Against tough competition, Neiman Groce '07 won the men's only individual victory, clinching the long jump title with a jump of 20 feet- 4 1/4 inches. Kevin Bright '06, an All-American in outdoor track, also had a good meet for the Panthers. Bright finished fourth in the 200m with a time of 23.54 seconds and second in the 400m, just beating out first-year teammate Patrick Swan by .02 seconds.

For the women's squad, Sarah Berkowitz '05 won the pole vault, clearing a height of 9 feet- 6 inches. The relay teams also added impressive victories for the Panthers. The 4x200m team of Berkowitz, Erin Oliver '07, Elysian McNiff '08 and Lizz Huntley '08 won the event with a time of 1:53.78. The 4x400m team of Melissa Thacker '05, Alice Flanders '07, Jessie Evangelista '08 and Heather Bessette '08 won also their event with a time of 4:19.80.

Since there was no team scoring at the meet, the Panthers used the opportunity to prepare themselves for future meets. Said co-captain Thacker, "We used this meet to provide a foundation for the spring season and to stay in shape for the year."

On Jan. 19 the teams traveled to Burlington to compete against the University of Vermont and St. Michael's College. The men's team, competing without their distance runners, fell short against the Catamounts, losing 69-50. The women's squad performed admirably but was alsoovermatched by a strong UVM team 97-30.

For the women, Huntley had the Panthers' only victory, claiming first in the long jump with a mark of 15 feet- 7 3/4 inches. Another bright spot for the women was a second-place finish in the pentathlon by first-year Meredith Downing, who led in the event for most of the meet. Said Coach Martin Beatty of Downing, "It was an impressive performance, especially for a freshman because of the different techniques one has to master."

On the men's side, Steve Atkinson '06 had a dual victory, taking first in the shot put and weight throw. Groce again added a win in the long jump for the Panthers, this time with a leap of 20 feet- 1 1/2 inches. Other winners for the men were Greg Lazerus '06 in the 55m, Bright in the 200m and Alex Wellman '07 in the 55m hurdles.

On Jan. 22 the teams traveled to St. Lawrence University to compete in the Saints Indoor Classic. Both the women's and men's teams finished fourth against some of the top teams in the region. Said Beatty, "I was really pleased by our performance. We did well to finish in the middle of those seven teams, considering their size and talent."

Two school-record performances highlighted the Panthers' meet on Saturday. Nick Digani '05 provided a spark-plug for the team for the rest of the meet, taking the 1500m in a school-record time of 4:04.84.

Digani was also a member of the school-record breaking 4x400m relay team, along with Bright, Matthew Malek '06 and Swan. The team won the event in a time of 3:25.04, eight seconds faster than the second-place team.

The women were led once again by Huntley, who finished second in the 55m and third in the 200m. Alli Williams '05 finished third in the 500m while Bessette finished fourth in the long jump. The 4x200m team of Huntley, Berkowitz, Oliver and Evangelista also took second in a time of 1:52.03.

The team has the next week off, with their next meet coming on Feb. 5 at the Dartmouth Invitational.