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Volume CXXXIII, Number 13 |
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Track squad falls to New England rivals
BEN PEISCH
STAFF WRITER
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| James Knuckles '07 competes in the 600-meter against Tufts and MIT. Knuckles came in fifth place with a time of 1:25.93 minutes. Teammate Greydon Foil '05 won the event in a staggering 1:21.87. (Courtesy of Eric Sofen) |
The track teams from Tufts University and the MIT made the trek from Boston to Brunswick to compete against the Bowdoin Polar Bears last Saturday. Unfortunately, the Bears wound up at the bottom of the pile once the chips were counted, narrowly losing to both squads. The final score was Tufts 131, MIT 123, and Bowdoin 118.
While the Bears had spent the early part of the season crushing inferior competition, after this weekend, the team knows where it stands. MIT and Tufts traditionally have two of the five strongest teams in New England, and they hold a slight advantage over the Polar Bears in a smaller meet because of their superior team size. Bowdoin will have more favorable matchups in a larger meet because of its several standout athletes, all of whom are capable of placing near the top of New England. Additionally, the Bears will not be outnumbered in each event.
Several standout individuals in black and white showed that they compete with, and even beat, some of the best athletes in the region. Undoubtedly, junior Greydon Foil had the best performance of the day, crushing the competition in the 600-meter en route to a 1:21.87 minutes clocking. Foil set a new Farley Field House record and was a single hummingbird's heartbeat away from breaking the vaunted school record of 1:21.84 set by former Bowdoin All-American Chris Downe '00. Not one to rest on his laurels, Foil also ran a blistering 48 second anchor leg of the 4x400-meter relay to make up a ten meter gap and win the race in a dramatic fashion.
Sophomore Andrew Combs also had an incredible day, completing one of the toughest doubles in track. At the beginning of the meet, Combs placed second in the mile to All-American miler Brian Anderson of MIT. His time for the race, 4:16.93 minutes, left him just two-tenths of a second away from qualifying for Nationals. After a short break, Combs then proceeded to race the 3000-meter, using his blistering speed over the final two laps to place second in the race with a time of 8:55.78 minutes.
Senior captain James Wilkins won the high jump easily, and came up just short of breaking his personal best in the event (6'10.5"), displaying that he is still competing at an extremely high level while preparing himself for top-shelf competition.
Junior Haliday Douglas also had a great day, placing second in the 200-meter (23.85 seconds) and third in the 55-meter dash (6.90 seconds). Freshman Joseph Adu also turned some heads by placing second in the 55-meter high hurdles (8.12 seconds) and sixth in the 200-meter (23.99 seconds).
While there were many remarkable performances throughout the afternoon, the most impressive aspect of the meet was the camaraderie of the men. Each Bowdoin male did everything they could to help the team. James Knuckles '07 stepped in and performed admirably in the stead of injured Phil Webster '04 in the 4x400, during which Greg Bangser '04, after placing fourth in the open 400 (51.0), toughed out his leg of the race despite a nagging injury to keep teammate Foil within striking distance.
First year Owen McKenna arrived at the meet without being entered in any events due to a calf injury as well as a fractured wrist, but he threw off his temporary cast and jumped into the formerly unmanned 5000-meter, placing a remarkable fourth (15:39 minutes) in his first attempt at the distance.
At the end of the day, the men emerged energized for the rest of the season, and increasingly hungry for victory. The men will face off against bitter rivals Colby, Bates, and USM on Saturday, February 7 at 5:00 p.m. at Bates College for the Maine State Indoor Championships. Bragging rights will be on the line. The meet promises to be tense, competitive, and occasionally barbaric. As always, spectators are welcomed and encouraged.
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