Institute Records Fall as Track And Field Competes at ECACs
Vincent Auyeung
The women’s track and field team recorded its best finish ever at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Championships this weekend, finishing second overall out of 51 scoring teams. Moravian College topped the standings with 56 points, followed by MIT with 42.5, and Bates College came in third with 42.
MIT led the competition after 16 events, behind a number of school records. The team boasted a record number of qualifiers for the ECAC Championships this year, which helped gain the points necessary to finish close to the top of the final rankings.
Capping her season in the thrower’s circle, Aline Thomas ’08 achieved two personal bests and NCAA provisional qualifying finishes over the weekend, placing fourth in weight throw. Her spin of 50’7.25” added nearly two feet to her best and makes her only the second Engineer to best 50’ in the event. In the shot put, Thomas tossed a personal-best 42’2”.
Amy R. Magnuson ’10 delivered new records in both the hurdles and long jump. After leading the qualifiers from the prelims behind an Institute-record 8.15 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles, Magnuson shattered the school and meet record during finals with a clip of 8.04. Unfortunately, Magnuson still finished in second, as Sumer Rohrs of Frostburg State finished with a time of 7.98 seconds, the fastest in the nation this season.
Magnuson spanned 17’6” en route to fourth place in the long jump, eclipsing the four year old Institute record of 17’3.75. On Friday, Magnuson finished 20th in the triple jump, reaching 34’3”.
Andrea E. Bradshaw ’09 pulled the Institute 800-meter mark down another tick for the fourth time this season, finishing a strong third-place at 2:16.89.
Bradshaw was part of another record-setting performance in the distance medley relay, as her split in the 800-meter set-up the anchor mile leg run by Jacqui M. Wentz ’10. Adrienne M. Bolger ’09 and Leanne M. Veldhuis ’08 ignited the Engineers’ NCAA provisional run as MIT finished third in 12:17.06.
Wentz picked up two important points with a seventh-place finish in the mile (5:12.26) and Veldhuis placed twelfth in the 600-meter run at 1:20.15.
Emily Hwang ’09 tied for third place in the pole vault after clearing 11’0.75”. Karin E. Fisher ’11 scaled a personal best 10’6.75” and tied for 12th.
The indoor season ends with the NCAA Championships next weekend, with only Magnuson a guaranteed entry at this point, as provisional qualifiers will have to wait for the selection process.
Morton, Stephens Lead Men
The men’s track and field team finished eighth at the ECAC Division III Championships this weekend, despite resting many of their athletes for the upcoming outdoor season.
Stephen A. Morton ’10 was sensational in the triple jump, despite finishing second. His jump of 47’11” was the fifth-best jump in the NCAA this season, topping a 25 year old school record of 47’7.25” set by Martin Taylor ’83.
Omari S. Stephens ’08 cleared 16’0.75” to win the pole vault with an NCAA provisional mark that was nearly one foot ahead of his previous season-best. Stephens attempted the meet record of 16’3.75”, but was unable to clear the height despite a few solid attempts.
Greg D. Tao ’10 (14’5.25”) and Patrick R. Barragan ’08 (13’5.25”) also competed in the pole vault, while Anthony D. Teixeira ’08 placed tenth in the triple jump at 44’11.5”. Mattias S. Flander ’11 finished fifteenth overall with a jump of 44’6.75”.
The freshman 4x800-meter relay team of Richard J. Prevost, Paul D. Welle, Shawn S. Conrad, and Kevin G. Kleinguetl wanted to go for the MIT freshman record of 8:05.13 set back in 1992. Prevost, primarily a distance runner, led off with a fine 1:59.2 and handed the baton to Welle in third place. Welle got out well, took the lead halfway through and held on to first place by running an outstanding 1:57.6.
Conrad held onto the lead for a while but could not stay with the top two runners in the final 200 meters before handing off to Kleinguetl in a distant third. Kleinguetl could not close the gap despite a split of 57.4 seconds in the first 400 meters, but he finished with a 1:58.8 to enable the Engineers to set a new freshman record with the time of 7:57.23.
Next week Stephens and Morton will travel to Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, to compete in the NCAA Division III Championship. A live webcast will available at: http://www.onusports.com/NCAATrack08/
If Morton qualifies in the long jump, he will compete at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 10 a.m. Saturday morning in the triple jump. Stephens will compete in the pole vault at 5 p.m. on Friday.