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(09/18/13 11:53pm)
The tenacious defense of the Panthers resulted in 1-0 victory and the first career clean sheet for keeper Ethan Collins ’14 on Saturday, Sept. 14 at home against Connecticut College.
Coming off a weeklong reprieve due to a rainout on Wednesday, Sept. 11 the Panthers were eager to even their record after last week’s heartbreaker at Amherst. Middlebury applied steady pressure in the first half, outshooting the Camels 6-1. In the 18th minute Harper Williams ’15 served up a beautiful cross from the right side that was broken up by the Camel keeper. Finally, 37 minutes into play, Court Lake ’16 sent a free kick into the box that was headed home by Deklan Robinson ’16 for his first goal of the season.
“It felt fitting that Deklan Robinson had the game winner, especially since he had 2 goals called back for no apparent reason in the 1-1 draw last year against Conn,” Collins said.
The Camels refused to roll over, attempting four shots in the second half to Middlebury’s zero, but were unable to make a breakthrough Collins finished with three saves in net.
“Collins played very well and I was delighted for him to get the clean sheet,” head coach David Saward said. “He has worked very hard and his efforts were well rewarded. He played steadily and showed an authoritative yet calm presence for the team.”
“It felt great to get my first clean sheet, but it was definitely a team effort,” Collins said. “Everyone fought hard for the 90 minutes- especially our back line … I’m really excited to be starting in goal this year … My freshman year I made it my personal goal to get the starting job and I’ve been putting the time and effort in ever since. It feels amazing to see the hard work pay off.”
Seven first-years saw their first game action after being forced to sit out last week’s tilt because of mandatory MiddView orientation trips. Greg Conrad ’17 and Adam Glaser ’17 played all 90 minutes, with Conrad attempting one shot.
“I thought the first-years all performed very well … in addition Luis Echeverria ’17 did very well in the all important midfield area … I do know they were all excited to get a competitive match in [after missing last week’s match],” Saward said.
“As soon as I stepped on the field, I was surprised by how quickly and physically the match was being played,” Echeverria said. “Nevertheless, I was happy with my performance and, most of all, I was happy to help the team get the win.
Middlebury continues conference play next Saturday, Sept. 21 at Bowdoin where the Polar Bears will be led by first-year coach Scott Wiercinski, Middlebury class of 1999.
(09/12/13 1:06am)
A weakened Middlebury men’s soccer squad traveled to Amherst for a matchup with the heavily favored Ephs on Saturday, Sept. 7. Middlebury played well against its eighth-ranked NESCAC rival, taking a 1-1 tie into overtime before Amherst ended the drama quickly with a goal in the fourth minute of extra time, sealing a 2-1 final score.
The team’s roster of 25 players includes 11 first-years, none of whom were present because of the mandatory MiddView orientation trips, leaving only three substitutes on the bench for coach David Saward. A handful of first-years are expected to see significant time the remainder of the season.
Amherst controlled the tempo in the first 15 minutes, setting a frenetic pace. Middlebury tried to slow the ball down, but Amherst was able to continually apply pressure and speed up the game. However, by the middle of the first half the Panthers settled in and put together a few chances. Late in the half the Panthers drew a clear foul and earned a penalty kick, which Harper Williams ’15 netted in the 42nd minute.
Amherst again applied steady pressure to begin the second half. Less than 20 minutes in, keeper Thomas Bull played a long ball forward to the head of Nico Pascual-Leone who redirected the ball to teammate Greg Singer. Singer ripped a low shot into the net and past goalkeeper Ethan Collins ’14.
Amherst appeared to have momentum after drawing level. But the Panthers were able to rebuff the Amherst offensive.
“They bunkered down and defended well,” said Saward. “Ethan was coming and getting the ball for us, which really helped.”
In extra time Amherst used a long throw to earn the game-winner. Max Fikke tossed the ball into a mass of bodies and found Ben Norton, who played the ball to the back post where Pascual-Leone scored the game winner.
“They worked so hard to get to that point,” said Saward. “I think they knew they did really well. I just hope that it carries forward into Wednesday [at Norwich]. I was definitely encouraged.”
Saward’s options were limited with the absence of 11 first-years.
“Especially when you think you’ve got three or four impact-level players, the lack of depth had an effect on the team’s spirit and attitude as well,” said Saward.
One such first-year, Greg Conrad ’17 was disappointed, but felt the decision aided the team in some ways.
“Obviously, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear when arriving on campus, especially the fact that it was Amherst,” Conrad said. “But, it has really fired up our squad and we are anxiously awaiting our first game with everyone back.
Saward would not use a reduced roster as an excuse, however.
“You work hard, you do your best over whatever period of time you play, and if you’ve got some talent, then some good things will happen,” he said.
“Overall you have to be disappointed with a loss,” said midfielder Andres Rodlauer ’16. “It was a beatable Amherst team and a good performance for 90 minutes but ultimately we came up short.”
A few individuals performed particularly well in the close loss. Deklan Robinson ’16 had a strong match, and captain Adam Batista ’14 “worked his socks off” according to coach Saward. Williams shook off the pressure to score the Panthers’ only goal.
Despite the defeat, the Panthers are confident that success is on the horizon.
“We’re confident that we are the best team in the NESCAC and are poised to make a big run at a championship season,” said Rodlauer.
The Middlebury men where back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Norwich whom they beat 2-0 last season, and will be reinforced by the return of the first-years. NESCAC play will resume on Saturday, Sept. 14 at home in a tilt against Conn. College.
(05/09/13 3:24am)
The Middlebury College track and field teams participated in the New England Division III Championships this Saturday, May 4, at Colby College. The men’s squad finished 10th among 26 teams, and the women placed 10th in a field of 25 teams.
Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 ran a remarkable 2:07.73 in the women’s 800-meter run, setting a new track, Middlebury and Division III New England meet record. Ryan-Davis’ time was also 10th best in Division III all-time.
“My personal best before the race was 2:10.68,” said Ryan-Davis, “In high school and earlier in college I put 2:10 on such a pedestal. I kept getting stuck at 2:11 [this year].”
“I was really grateful for Emily Dodge [’13] and Patrick Rooney [’13] at the 200 meters and again at the 600-meter mark yelling my splits and telling me to push it,” continued Ryan-Davis, “When I realized [I had run] a 2:07, I was pretty psyched, because you don’t get to PR in the 800 by three seconds very often. The last time I did that was probably in high school.”
The men’s team from Bates squeaked out a one-point victory over MIT to capture the overall team championship.
For Middlebury, the 4x100-meter relay team of Kevin Chu ’14, Bryan Holtzman ’14, Fritz Parker ’15 and Will Bain ’15 placed third just behind MIT and Tufts. Holtzman also provided a top-10 finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.27, good for sixth in the field. The men were also strong in the distance events. In the 1,500-meter run, Jack Davies ’13, Wilder Schaaf ‘14 and Patrick Hebble ’13 finished fourth, fifth and sixth. Sam Craft ’14 placed sixth in the 800-meter run. Anthony Lee ’13 finished fifth in the 5,000-meter run at 4:55.58.
On the women’s side, MIT achieved a clear victory over second-place Tufts.
For Middlebury, Kara Walker ’13 competed in the heptathlon, besting the field in the long jump and placing eighth overall. Carly Andersen ’16 placed fourth in the javelin throw. Emily Dodge ’13 came in at fifth in the long jump with a leap of 17’ 2.25”. Dodge also gathered a top-10 finish in the triple jump, placing sixth, and was joined by teammate Emma McGuirk ’15 at ninth. Laura Strom ‘15 tied for ninth in the high jump. Addie Tousley ’13 broke the top-10 in the 1,500-meter run, just seconds ahead of teammates Sarah Guth ’15 and Alison Maxwell ’15.
Alex Morris ’16 ran a 58.24 in the women’s 400-meter dash, good for sixth in the event. Sarah O’Brien ’13 joined Ryan-Davis in the 800-meter run, placing sixth with a time of 2:15.97. In the women’s 5,000-meter run, MIT runners took the top four spots, but were closely followed by Lottie Hedden ’14.
Additionally, the men’s and women’s 2013 All-NESCAC teams were announced this week. Twenty-six Middlebury athletes placed in the top three in their events at last week’s NESCAC championships to earn All-NESCAC honors.
Fifteen Middlebury men were included in the all-conference team, the most of any team in the conference. The Panthers were boosted by top-three finishes from all three of their relay teams at NESCACs.
For the women, 11 Panthers were named All-NESCAC, the second most in the conference.
The Panthers will compete next at the Open New England Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 10 and 11, hosted by Stonehill College.
(05/01/13 8:06pm)
The Middlebury men’s and women’s track and field teams competed on Saturday, April 27 in the NESCAC Championship at Tufts University. The hosts were victorious on both sides, but the Panther teams had strong finishes. The women finished second while the men placed third.
The men won a total of four events on the day. Jack Davies ’13 continued his impressive season by claiming first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase en route to setting a new NESCAC record at 8:58.01. The steeplechase secured a four-year sweep of that event for Davies. Bryan Holtzman ’14 led all competitors in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash, then improved his time and won the final in a blazing 10.92 seconds. Kevin Chu ’14 also entered the finals of his event as the favorite and came out on top in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.71 seconds, good for eighth in the nation.
Finally, the men’s 4x100-meter relay team comprised of Chu, Holtzman, Fritz Parker ’15 and anchored by Will Bain ’15 bested the field with a time of 42.31.
On the women’s side, Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 and Addie Tousley ’13 added to their long list of victories by claiming individual NESCAC championships. Ryan-Davis won the 800-meter run by nearly three seconds with a time of 2:13.73. Tousley was also a victor by three seconds in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:59.91. Her performance currently ranks sixth nationally.
Additionally, the 4x800-meter relay team of Sara Guth ’15, Alison Maxwell ’15, captain Sarah O’Brien ’13 and Nicole Schachman ’16 finished first with a time of 9:26.19.
Other members of the men’s team had successful days. Holtzman added to his 100-meter championship by placing second in the 200-meter dash.
“The toughest part about running multiple meets is taking each one event at a time,” said Holtzman. “I had to maintain focus on the first race before thinking about the next one. My strategy doesn’t change if I’m running one event or four. I owe my success to Coach Beatty. We came up with a plan to keep me well-rested in the week. This allowed me to perform for the entire day.”
Wilder Schaaf ’15 was a close second in the 1,500-meter run. Jason McCallum ’14 was another near-victor for the Panthers with a pole vault of 14’ 1.25”. Deklan Robinson ’16 and Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 tied for second in the high jump, each clearing 6’ 2”.
The men’s distance medley relay team of Patrick Hebble ’13, Sam Craft ’14, Cooper Kersey ’14 and Schaaf also placed second with a time of 10:10.63, just three tenths of a second behind the winning team from Bowdoin. The 4x400-meter team of Parker, Lou Cornacchione ’13, Patrick Rooney ’13 and Peter Hetzler ’14 finished third behind Tufts and Williams. Rooney also placed third in the triple jump and Davies added to his steeplechase victory by taking fourth in the 5,000-meter run in 14:41.69.
Emily Dodge ’13 posted a long jump of 18’ .25” – good for third in the competition and a new Middlebury school record – and also finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 36’ 7.5”. Grace Doering ’13 placed second in the high jump at 5’3”.
Ryan-Davis didn’t stop with the 800, but also ran the 400 meters and finished second. Additionally, the women’s 4x400- meter relay of Ryan-Davis, Alex Morris ’16, Jackie Kearney ’16 and Olivia Artaiz ’16 placed third in the meet. Maxwell and Kate Leib ’16 placed 3-4 in the women’s 1,500-meter run and Carly Andersen ’16 was fourth in the javelin throw to round out scoring for the women.
The women earned second-place by finishing with 117.5 points, behind only host Tufts.
The men’s 140 points, put them in third with a new Middlebury record for the NESCAC meet. The men trailed Tufts and Bates in the finals standings.
The next meet for both teams will be this coming weekend, May 3 and 4, at the Division III New England Championships, hosted by Colby College.
(04/25/13 12:43am)
The men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday, April 20 at the Dragone Track. The Panthers competed against University of Vermont, Plattsburgh St. and the women of Colby-Sawyer.
Both teams won their respective competitions handily, winning a total of 25 out of 35 events. The women scored 89 of a possible 173 points, while the men captured 116 points.
On the men’s side, the Panthers dominated the field events. Daniel Plunkett ’16 scored several points for the team, winning both the shot put and hammer throw. Fellow first-year Ian Riley ’16 was the top collegiate javelin thrower at the meet. Several of the team’s jumpers also had standout meets. Deklan Robinson ’16 placed first in the long jump and second in the high jump. Meanwhile, Patrick Rooney ’13 won the triple jump, and Jason McCallum ’14 was victorious in the pole vault.
The men’s team’s outstanding showing continued through the running events as Bryan Holtzman ’14 led the pack with a win the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.81, matching the Dragone Track record. Patrick Hebble ’13, Sam Cartwright ’16 and Sebastian Matt ’16 captured the first three spots in the 1,500-meter run. Luke Carpinello ’16 won the 800-meter run, while Sam Craft ’14 came in second just after fellow Middlebury runner to Nick Spencer ’15 in the 400-meter dash. Louis Cornacchione ’13 won the 400-meter hurdles, while Stuart Fram ’13 won the 110-meter hurdles.
On the women’s side, the competition was equally impressive. Carly Andersen ’16 continued her impressive season by winning the women’s javelin throw. Emily Dodge ’13 was first in the triple jump. Grace Doering ’13 put up the best high jump. Jackie Kearney ’16 led the pack in both the 400 meter and 100-meter hurdles to continue the Panther winning streak.
After finishing an impressive indoor season, Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 continues to break school records as she ran the women’s 800 meter in 2:11.82, setting a new Dragone record. Ryan-Davis’s fellow DMR relay team member, Alexandra Morris ’16 finished first in both the women’s 400-meter dash and 200-meter dash, taking the top spot in both spring events while, Chelsea Montello ’16 placed first in the women’s 100-meter dash to complete the women’s sprint dominance.
Tri-captain Kara Walker ’13 bested the competition in the long jump with a 5.16 meter jump, before competing in the women’s 4x100-meter relay alongside Emma McGuirk ’14, Lauren Henry ’16 and Chelsea Montello ’16. The four bested the relay teams from Plattsburgh and Colby-Sawyer by over a second with a time of 52.12.
“The weather was pretty unfavorable on Saturday,” said Walker. “So being able to complete smooth handoffs and run a good race against the wind is definitely a confidence booster looking ahead [to NESCACs].”
Looking ahead to next week, Walker continued, “Our team lives for NESCACs. Until now, it’s basically every man for himself, but at this meet we truly came together as a team. Every performance and every point counts. Both the men’s and women’s teams have a great shot at winning this year, so there’s a lot of buzz and excitement, but we’re all trying to rest up and save our energy for when we need it most. We are very ready, and I think we can expect some big performances.”
Jack Davies ’13 may not have competed at Middlebury this weekend, but he did not take the weekend off, instead traveling to Princeton to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton on Friday, April 19. There Davies ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:52.08, a personal best by two seconds, breaking his own school outdoor record by over nine seconds and earning himself the honor of being ranked the top racer at the Division III level in that event. Additionally, Davies’ record time clocks in as the 10th best all-time in Division III.
“It was a great race for Jack,” said distance coach Nicole Wilkerson. “It was just a good opportunity for him to race the steeple. He ran strong and pulled away with 1,000 meters to go, and won by a good 15 meters. He ran strong and looked good, and will look to break 8:50 over the next few weeks.”
The men and women’s teams will gear up this week in preparation for the April 27 NESCAC championships at Tufts University.
(04/17/13 11:41pm)
The Middlebury men’s and women’s track and field squads competed at Army against four Division I schools on Saturday, April 13.
The men finished second with a score of 120.50, behind Army but well ahead of Binghamton, Columbia and Colgate. The women’s team scored 87 points and finished fourth behind Columbia, Army and Binghamton but ahead of Colgate.
“We’ve become accustomed to running against Division I teams,” said sprinter Andrew Headrick ’16, alluding to the fact that Middlebury has run against Dartmouth and UVM a handful of times this year. “It’s fun to race against some big-name schools. But it’s important to stay focused on what we can control.”
“Track is track,” said head coach Martin Beatty. “Most of their athletes were like NESCAC athletes. The nice thing about track is you’re always going against the stop watch or the measuring tape.”
Middlebury’s best individual performances of the day came in the men’s 1500 meters where Jack Davies ’13 and Wilder Schaaf ’14 went 1-2 among a field of 17 runners. Sam Carwright ’16 placed fourth in the event with a time of 3:57.31. Alison Maxwell ‘15 placed third in the women’s 1500 meter at 4:37.85.
“It’s great to see Alison picking up right where she left off from indoor season,” said Beatty.
Deklan Robinson ’16 cracked the top three in the men’s high jump at 1.89 meters and was followed by teammates Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 and Diego Galan Donlo ’14. Emily Dodge ’13 finished fourth in the women’s long jump. Nick Spencer ’14 placed fifth in the men’s long jump.
First-years Carly Andersen ’16 and Ian Riley ’16 each placed fourth in their respective javelin events. Dana Tripp ’14 placed fifth in the women’s hammer throw.
“Carly and Ian are both very promising as first-years,” said Beatty.
Will Bain ’15 impressed by finishing second out of 10 in the men’s 100-meter dash. Sam Craft ’14 placed third in the men’s 800 meters while running a 1:55.03. Sarah O’Brien ’13 managed a fifth-place finish on the women’s side with a time of 2:18.15.
Jackie Kearney ’16 finished fourth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and Kevin Chu ’14, Louis Cornacchione ’13 and Jake Wood finished 4-6 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Bryan Holtzman ’14 finished second in the men’s 200-meter dash in a field of 17 runners. Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 and Alexandra Morris ’16 finished 3-4 in the women’s 400-meter dash, while Peter Hetzler ’14 finished third in the men’s by running a 50.15.
Both the men’s and women’s teams finished third in the 4x400-meter relay. The men’s team included Fritz Parker ’15, Patrick Rooney ’13, Cornacchione and Hetzler. The women’s side consisted of Ryan-Davis, Morris and first-years Olivia Artaiz ’16 and Halle Gustafson ’16. The men’s 4x100 meter relay team of Chu, Holtzman, Parker and Bain finished second with a time of 42.87.
Addie Tousley ’13 and Katie Carlson ’15 were the only competitors in the women’s 5000-meter run. Tousley finished first with a time of 17:28.97. Summer Spillane ’15 was the lone runner in the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase and finished in 12:26.38. Aaron de Toledo ’16 was the sole collegiate runner in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase and came in at a time of 9:55.84. Kevin Wood ’15 and Melake Getabetcha ’13 finished 3-4 in the men’s 5000-meter run.
“It’s a nice confidence boost for us getting ready to go into postseason with the NESCAC Championship,” said Beatty.
“The women didn’t do as well on the team side of things, but I think they can still be right at the top of the NESCAC, too.”
Both the men and women return to action this Saturday, April 20, when they host the Middlebury Invitational. The teams will travel to Tufts the following weekend for the NESCAC championships.
“This week will be a fun meet to have with the parents and the seniors’ last meet at home,” said Beatty. “So it will be a meet to tune-up and get ready for the postseason. Two weeks from now will be the big test.”
(04/10/13 9:48pm)
The Middlebury men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in two meets in California over spring recess, March 23 and 30, and in a three-team meet at Springfield College on Saturday, April 6, with the teams competing well in all three meets.
The Panthers opened up the season at Point Loma Nazarene University on March 23 in the Ross and Sharon Irwin Invitational. After practicing outside only sporadically during the preceding weeks, the Panthers were excited to get outside in California.
“They’re two different sports, indoor track and outdoor track,” said coach Martin Beatty. “So we jumped into our first meet almost cold. And I was really happy with the performances that we had.”
Kevin Chu ’14 won the 100-meter hurdles and placed third in the 400-meter hurdles. Panther men Bryan Holtzman ’14 and Diego Galan Donlo ’14 also captured victories in the 100 meters and high jump, respectively. Additionally, the 4x800-meter relay team, comprised of Jack Davies ’13, Patrick Hebble ’13, Sam Craft ’14 and Wilder Schaaf ’14 paced the field with a time of 7:50.44.
The women’s 4x800-meter team of Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13, Addie Tousley ’13, Alison Maxwell ’15 and Sarah Guth ’15 also finished first. Ryan-Davis also won the 400 meters while Tousley won the 1,500 and Dana Tripp ’14 out tossed the rest of the field with a hammer throw of 128’8”.
There were more impressive finishes on both the men’s and women’s sides. Davies placed second in the 1,500 meters. First-years Mark Perry ’16 and Aaron de Toledo ’16 finished 2-3 in the 5,000 meters. The 4x100-meter relay team of Holtzman, Chu, Fritz Parker ’15 and Sam Rives ’15 also finished second. Also finishing 2-3 were Jason McCallum ’14 and Conor Simons ’16 in the pole vault. Peter Hetzler ’14 placed second in the 400 meters. For the women, Maxwell finished third in the 1,500 meters. Also finishing third were Grace Doering ’13 in the high jump and Carly Andersen ’16 in the javelin.
Middlebury competed at the same venue on March 30 and again experienced a great deal of success.
“We’re working pretty hard during the week,” said Beatty, “so the second meet, the people who are well prepared from the whole year, who are in great shape, they’re going to respond well from the hard work and do well.”
Craft defeated the field of 68 in the 800 meters, while Hebble won the 1,500 meters, Louis Cornacchione ’13 won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.55. In the women’s 800 meters, Ryan-Davis, Tousley and O’Brien finished 1-3. In the 5,000 meters, Katie Carlson, Guth and Caroline Guiot pulled off the same feat. Emily Dodge ’13 won the 100-meter hurdles. Andersen bested the field with a javelin throw of 130’. Tripp finished second in the women’s hammer throw, while Chu placed second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles and Deklan Robinson ’16 finished second in the high jump.
Additionally, Davies won the 3,000 steeplechase, earning himself NESCAC Performer of the Week accolades
“He’s a stud,” said Beatty. “He’s expected to do really well. We’re hoping he’ll end up being a national champion; he has that type of capability.”
When asked if any newcomers had impressed during the week in California, Beatty singled out thrower Carly Andersen. Andersen finished second in the javelin throw at the first meet and won the second meet. She also competed in the discus and hammer throws.
“She cranked out a great throw of 130 feet in the second meet. And there’s more there, she has a couple of technique things that she needs to work on. She can go even further and hopefully go to NCAAs.”
“I was throwing okay in practices,” said Andersen, “The first throw of the second meet was a PR by about two feet, and I hadn’t thrown that far since junior year of high school.”
Andersen has received coaching and guidance from older throwers and assistant coach Luke Hotte.
“There are a lot of little tips that people have about how to prepare for a meet,” said Andersen, “Just how to practice and how to be deliberate so you get the best results. NCAA nationals is the top 22 women and I think I’m 16th or something now so hopefully I keep it up and get to go.”
Beatty commented on the team’s trip to California and its value to the team.
“It’s a great bonding trip,” he said.
On Saturday, April 6, Middlebury competed against Springfield and Bowdoin in a meet hosted by Springfield. Both the men’s and women’s teams won the three-team meet.
Alexandra Morris ’16 won the 400 meters. Andersen again was victorious in the javelin throw. The women dominated the 1,500 meters, with Ryan-Davis, Maxwell, O’Brien and Guth finishing 1-4.
For the men, Holtzman won the 100 meters and Hetzler the 400 meters. Schaaf took home the victory in the 1,500 meters. Stu Fram ’13, Taylor Shortsleeve ’15 and James Lynch ’16 swept the podium in the 110-meter hurdles. Chu and Jake Wood ’15 went 1-2 in the 400-meter hurdles. Anthony Lee ’13 won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.29. The Middlebury men’s teams won both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays. Kyle Harrold ’13 also won the pole vault and Dan Bent ’13 won the triple jump for the Panthers.
(03/14/13 12:28am)
Five members of the women’s indoor track team competed over the weekend at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Naperville, Ill. on March 8 and 9. On Friday, the women of Wisconsin-Oshkosh upset the top-ranked distance medley relay (DMR) team from Middlebury, made up of seniors Sarah O’Brien ’13, Addie Tousley ’13 and Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13 as well as first-year Alex Morris ’16. Sophomore Alison Maxwell ’15 also competed in the mile on Friday, failing to qualify with a time of 5:06.86. Tousley followed up her performance on Friday by earning All-American honors in the women’s 5,000 meter on Saturday.
After breaking a Division III national record with a finishing time of 11:32.36 on Feb. 22 at Boston University, and winning the last two NCAA Championships, the Middlebury DMR team was favored going into the weekend. Middlebury ran well, posting a time of 11:34.51, narrowly defeating third-place Geneseo St., but couldn’t match Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s record-setting pace of 11:32.24. Wisconisin-Oshkosh also placed first in the overall rankings on the weekend.
Coach Nicole Wilkerson explained that Tousley finished strong to help the team place second.
“We went from fifth to second in the last 100 meters,” said Wilkerson.
All four members of Middlebury’s DMR team received All-American honors. The DMR team will look significantly different next year following the departure of three seniors, but will feature the return of Morris.
“It’s been an absolute honor running with these three seniors and I’m extremely lucky they accepted me the way they did,” Morris said. “They are phenomenal and inspirational runners. I definitely felt a certain responsibility being the only freshman because I knew how much this meant to them and I wanted them to have the best last indoor race for Middlebury that they could have.”
Tousley faced the challenge of bringing her best on back-to-back days. After running the anchor leg of the DMR on Friday and bringing the team back from a slow start, she entered the 5,000-meter race as the third-ranked runner, and finished right where she started, posting a time of 17:02.11, less than five seconds behind the winner from Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Christy Cazzola. Cazzola, incidentally, also ran the final leg for Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the DMR on Friday.
Alison Maxwell ’15 entered Friday’s mile preliminary as the eighth-ranked runner, but unfortunately failed to qualify for the final. Maxwell ran a 5:06.86, good for 14th on the day but was unable to make her way into the top 10.
Overall the Middlebury women placed 15th at the event out of 64 teams competing.
“The big focus is the NESCAC meet at end of April,” said Wilkerson.
Both the men and women begin the outdoor, spring season during the spring recess when they travel to Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. on March 23.