Volume CXXXI, Number 21 April 12, 2002 f

Bears dominate on the track and in the field
TAYLOR WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER

On Saturday, the Bowdoin men's track squad hosted the first (and final) home meet of the spring season, taking on state rivals Southern Maine and Gordon College at Whittier Field. As expected, the Polar Bears were dominant, earning victories in all but one individual event and more than doubling the team score of the second place USM Huskies.

Brain Laurits '03 in the 4x100-meter relay. (Henry Coppola, Bowdoin Orient)

One of the meet's most exciting moments came when junior Pat Vardaro knocked more than fifteen seconds off the school record in the two mile run. Already the record holder in the indoor 5,000 meter, Vardaro left no doubts as he pulled away from USM's Daryl Whitney and Bowdoin senior Dave Wall early in the race. Wall, growling and grimacing, also surpassed the old mark, clocking 9:29 and blasting past a dying Whitney in the final half mile to finish second overall. Though the 3200 meter event is rarely contested, quick times in this race are seen as solid indicators of an athlete's ability to be competitive in 1500 meter and 5000 meter races later in the season.

Bowdoin also cruised to victory in the 10,000 meter run as juniors Scott Barbuto (32:05) and Conor O'Brien (32:23) posted two of the strongest times in New England this spring. Barbuto's mark was within ten seconds of the times that won the NESCAC and New England DIII championship meets last spring and his commanding performance established him as serious contender in a number of events. In the 1500 meter run, sophomore Scott Herrick (4:08) lead a trio of Bowdoin runners across the finish line and freshman Dan Hall (10:52) earned his first college victory with a first place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase.

In the sprints, Bowdoin sophomore Brian Laurits dominated with a pair of victories in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes. The 100 meter dash also featured a clean Bowdoin sweep of the top six positions, including solid supporting performances by James Mecone, Geoffery Close and Greg Bangser. The Bears were again strong in the 400 meter dash, as Phil Webster '04 lead a sweep of the top four positions in a quick time of 50:19. Laurits and Webster later teamed up to help Bowdoin win both the 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays. Kareem Canada '05 and Steve Franklin '04 also earned exciting individual victories in the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles, respectively.

Senior captain Nick Lyford was the second double-winner of the day, taking first place in the shot put and the javelin. The school-record holder in the javelin, Lyford muscled the spear an impressive 165'4" en route to an easy victory. Chris Wagner '04 also took home a first-place finish for the Bears, winning the discus with a toss of more than 123 feet. Sophomore high jumper James Wilkins, already an All-American in indoor track, flew to an easy victory while classmate Tung Trin leaped 19'7" to take home first place in the long jump. Freshman pole vault star Jon Todd lead a top-five sweep by Bowdoin in his event as he cleared a bar set at 13'7".