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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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Nine men in black crowned champions of New England
BEN PEISCH
STAFF WRITER
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| Owen McKenna '07 battles it out for the finish. McKenna placed fifth in the mile with a time of 3:59.66 at the New Englands. Teammate Andrew Combs '05 finished just ahead of McKenna. (Courtesy of Eric Sofen) |
The men of Bowdoin's track team played host to the New England Championships on Saturday. By the end of the day, nine men in black were crowned New England champions with the team standing proudly in sixth place overall.
Andrew Combs '05 and Owen McKenna '07 were the two Bowdoin representatives in the mile. At the sound of the gun, Combs tucked in behind the leader, MIT's Brian Anderson, while McKenna settled in the back of the pack. After three quarters of the race had expired, both Combs and McKenna surged heroically. Combs continued to follow Anderson, making it a two-man race for first, while McKenna blasted his way from last place into contention.
With 75 meters to go in the race, Combs avenged his loss to Anderson earlier in the season by blasting his way to victory in a time of 3:56.99. McKenna followed just seconds afterward with a nifty kick of his own, placing fifth overall in 3:59.66.
Shortly afterwards, "Jumpin'" James Wilkins '04 won his first New England championship in the high jump, an accolade that had previously eluded him despite his mastery of the event. Wilkins' winning jump was 6'9" inches, beating Justin Welch of Springfield College by two inches.
Meanwhile, Jon Todd '05, one of the premier pole vaulters in the region, propelled himself over the bar at 13'9" to place fifth overall. Todd's impressive vault, combined with his narrow misses at 14'3.5," demonstrate not only his prowess but his enormous potential in the event.
Despite qualifying many individual athletes in other events, the Bears elected to focus on the relays. The Bears knew they had a shot at winning both the 4x400-meter and the Distance Medley Relay, and possibly scoring points with a ragtag 4x800-meter relay as well.
The 4x400-meter was the first relay on the track, and the men in black did not disappoint. Seniors Brian Laurits, Greg Bangser, and Phil Webster built a tremendous lead for Greydon Foil '05, who carried the baton across the line in first place and a meet-record time of 3:20.36. The time qualified the squad provisionally for nationals, and if the men take roughly a second off their overall time in the coming weeks, they will be all but guaranteed an all-expense paid trip to the Big Dance.
The Distance Medley Relay followed suit shortly afterwards. McKenna ran a tactically brilliant leadoff leg to give the Bears the lead. James Knuckles '07 pounded the 400 to hand off to Steve Franklin '04, who extended the team's lead on the field. By the time mile specialist Andrew Combs '06 received the baton, the race for first place dwindled down to three teams: Bowdoin, Colby, and Williams. Anyone who had ever met Combs knew what was going to happen. Combs used a mind-boggling kick over the last lap to bury the field. The team finished with a combined time of 10:23, another new meet record.
The 4x800-meter team, composed of Jordan Harrison '04, Ben Martens '06, and roommates Dan Hall '05 and Ben Peisch '05 surprised everyone with a seventh-place finish, despite being seeded in the slow heat. The two points the men scratched together were enough to hold off late-charging Coast Guard Academy in the team competition, as the Bears snuck by the Academy by a mere half a point.
Although the Bears were sixth in the overall standings, they crowned the most individual New England champions. They scored points in nearly every event they were entered in, and every man in a black uniform competed with honor. The foundation of the team all season has been a commitment to a common cause, and this strong base will continue to define the team through the rest of the winter as well into the spring.
Several individuals will compete at the Open New England Championships today and tomorrow at Boston University. The men will have the opportunity to compete against all teams from the region in all divisions, and the men hope to set personal records in their events and possibly qualify for nationals.
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