January 31, 2003

Men's Tracksters Head To Beantown for Meet

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Harvard and Brown, watch out. The men’s track team — the deepest and most talented squad in recent years — is firing on all cylinders and ready to capture its first Ivy League victories of the season. As the Red heads to Boston this weekend to face the Crimson and the Bears, coaches and athletes alike feel confident that the team will return to Ithaca victorious.

Predicting tough competition but nonetheless optimistic about winning the meet, head coach Nathan Taylor said, “Both teams will give us a run for our money, and each team will bring three or four really outstanding runners, but neither has the kind of depth we do.”

Junior distance runner Jason Hart also predicted a win.

“We’re a really strong dual meet team because we have excellent guys at the top and two or three guys right behind them who can score big points,” he said. “In the past, everything had to go right for us to win, but now we’re so deep — probably the deepest I’ve ever seen — and all those points add up.”

Hart, along with sophomores Brian Eremita and Kenan Goggins, and juniors Aldo Gonzalez, Mike Nanaszko, and Rahim Wooley have won or placed highly in their races all year and will be the top runners for the Red this weekend. Supporting them are numerous others, particularly middle distance runners, who can make a big impact on the final team scores.

Throwers will also look to score big for the Red. Sophomore Zach Beadle, junior Giles Longley-Cook, and seniors Brett Coffing and Derek Kingrey have virtually eliminated their competition all season long.

Of his throwers Taylor said, “These guys will be dominant. They’re real workhorses and the best in the Ivies right now. Without them, the team would be at a real disadvantage.”

Despite the strong outlook, Harvard and Brown will still keep this contest close. Harvard, in particular, has two nationally ranked runners. Sophomore middle distance runner James Kelly was a Heps champion as a freshmen, and senior Christopher Lambert is a national contender in short sprints.

“These are two of the best runners in the world,” said Taylor, “but I don’t even know if they will compete because they’re just getting off exams this week.”

Archived article by Everett Hullverson