After a somewhat disappointing showing at the Heptagonal Ivy League Championships, the men’s track team rebounded in a huge way by tying for third in the IC4A Championships held at Boston University this past weekend. The women’s team finished off its strong indoor season with another great showing by finishing fifth at the ECAC Championships.
Both the men’s and women’s teams finished as the top Ivy League school competitors in the meet with an attack that had over 16 scoring performances and even more All-East performers at the two-day event. The men’s team finished with 45.5 points, falling behind the University of Albany’s 68.5 points and George Mason’s 65 points to tie Liberty. The women’s team took fifth place with 31 points, falling behind Connecticut, Seton Hall, George Mason and Rutgers.
The following day, McClain broke the school record for the second straight day and beat his own record by running an amazing 62.97 for a third place finish. Freshman Nick Wade chipped in with a second place finish in the 800m run. Senior captain Josh Kirkpatrick and sophomore Chris Arlinghaus supplied more points from field events with a sixth place finish in the heptathlon for Kirkpatrick and a fourth place finish in the high jump for Arlinghaus. The 4×400 relay team, featuring junior Cody Boyd, sophomore Dan Thomas, Freitas and McClain, placed seventh. The 4×800 relay team, anchored by Wade, ran the school’s third best time for a fifth place finish.
Sophomore sprinter Nick Huber commented on the team’s strong showing in response to a poor one at Heps.
“This meet went excellent,” Huber said. “We were very happy with it. Many of the young kids stepped up and had outstanding days … everyone just performed well.”
Huber believes the main reason for the team’s great recovery was the great leadership and direction coach Nathan Taylor and the captains provided to the young athletes on the team.
“Whether it’s nerves or something else, we struggled at the big meets,” Huber said. “We had a lot of team meetings and coach and the captains spoke to us a lot after Heps. Coach got us back on the right track and we showed we can compete on the big stage through the IC4A championships.”
The team is looking forward to the outdoor season after this great finish to the indoor season.
“The IC4A is good momentum for the outdoor season,” Huber said. “We’re excited about a lot of guys and outdoor should be real fun.”
The women’s team had some great performances as well, with senior captain Stephanie Pancoast leading the way with fourth place in the 5000m run, good enough for sixth in school history. The distance medley relay team, anchored by senior Emma Clarke, scored to place fifth. Senior captain Jessica Weyman and junior Kim Strandridge both had strong meets as Weyman finished sixth in the 400m dash and Strandridge took fourth in a strong 800m field. Freshman Kelsey Karys placed fourth in the 3000m run, senior Natalie Gengel took fifth in the pole vault and the 4×800 team finished fourth to round out the scoring efforts.
Although Gengel had to leave early for medical school interviews, she had one of her best days off of an injury.
“I ended up fifth and it was the best showing so far this season,” Gengel said. “I was disappointed a little but I only had a couple weeks to practice and I’ll continue to look forward.”
The end of the indoor season has the women’s team also preparing for the beginning of the outdoor season.
“We’ve got a training trip to California next week,” Gengel said. “We’re focusing on getting back to top shape.”
Original Author: Wankyu Lee