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Volume CXXXII, Number 17 |
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Track and Field runs to fourth
TAYLOR WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER
At the New England Division III Track and Field Championships, the Bowdoin men's track team captured a fourth place finish despite entering as the sixth seed in a strong field. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted the event at their indoor facility in Cambridge.
Perennial power houses-M.I.T., Williams, Tufts-captured the top three spots. Trailing the Polar Bears, rival Bates finished fifth, Springfield sixth, and Colby a distant seventh.
The most exciting event of the day for Bowdoin was the 600-meter run, which featured an intense duel between junior Phil Webster and sophomore Greydon Foil. Though the two runners ran identical times, Webster was awarded the victory and Foil was given second.
In the same race, senior Byron Boots also picked up All-New England honors with a sixth place finish. Also picking up sixth place finishes were junior captain Brian Laurits in the 400-meter dash and senior Jeff Manganaro in the 55-meter dash.
Bowdoin's weight men also had a very good day. Sophomore Jarrett Young led the team in an extremely competitive event with a fifth place finish and a throw of 53'11". His mammoth throw was good enough to qualify Jarrett provisionally for the NCAA Division III Championships in Indiana. Senior Jamie Salsich also provided an All-New England performance for the Polar Bears, placing eighth in the shot put with a throw of 46 feet.
In the distance races, the highlight was senior captain Pat Vardaro's second place finish in the 3,000-meters. Vardaro pulled out a fabulous kick and ended up less than a second behind perennial All-American Karl Remsen of Williams. First-year Andrew Combs also provided another great highlight for the Polar Bears, as he finished fourth in the 1,000-meter run (2:31) behind two multiple-time NCAA champions (Ryan Bak of Trinity and Mark Miller of Keene State) and All-American Brian Anderson of MIT.
Combs flew by a number of the region's top runners in the final stretch and was gaining on the lead pack as they crossed the line. Senior Conor O'Brien earned All-New England honors in the 5,000-meters for the second straight year, finishing seventh in 15:27. Though he was in last for much of the race, O'Brien picked up nearly ten places over the course of the last mile as other runners fell back in exhaustion.
Junior James Wilkins, a consistent top performer and an All-American last winter, picked up a second place finish in the high jump. Though he eventually jumped the same height as MIT's Craig Mielcarz (6'8"), a missed attempt at a lower height put Wilkins in second. Senior pole-vaulter Tim Pasakarnis also had a great day. He cleared a personal best of 13'7", earning All-New England honors and placing sixth overall.
The team put particular emphasis on the relay events for this meet, and all three had strong performances. The 4x400 meter relay, which included Foil, Webster, Laurits and senior Evan Matzen, placed a close second behind Tufts. The 4x800 meter relay ran a strong time of 8:02 and placed fifth thanks to the efforts of Combs, junior Steve Franklin, junior Jordan Harrison, and Boots.
The Distance Medley Relay, an odd event which includes a 1600-meter run, a 1200-meter run, an 800-meter run and a 400-meter run, was divided into two heats. Bowdoin unfortunately missed the cut for the faster of the two. Nevertheless, the squad (which featured senior Jeff Rubens, senior Dan Gulotta, junior Scott Herrick, and senior Chris Davidson) picked up second place in the slower heat and placed sixth overall.
Next weekend the Bears will travel to Boston University for the Open New England Championships, featuring teams and athletes from all three NCAA divisions.
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