March 8-9, 2002
MIT Men's Track team went to Ohio Northern University with the expectation of placing among the top 5 schools. Although they returned with All-Americans in three events, they were unable to capitalize on their high seeds. They placed third in the Distance Medley Relay, an event in which they were seeded 1st, 6th in the 1500 where they were seeded 3rd and 6th in the 5000 where they were seeded 2nd and 4th. All in all, it was a disappointing end to a very successful indoor season.
Chris Khan, a sophomore, who due to injury last year is in his first indoor season and is only a freshman from an eligibility point of view, was seeded 10th in the 35 lb. Weight Throw. Chris had a great series in the trials, throwing 55-9 to move into 9th place, good enough for finals. While re-measuring the weights due to an apparent record throw, it was realized that that weight and all the other Gill weights no longer measured in due to a stretching of the bag that holds the weight. Although Khan did not use this weight, most of the throwers did. In the finals, no Gill weights were allowed. Six of the throwers still threw farther than Khan so the type of weight used may have made a difference in the distance thrown but not much of a difference in the places.
Sean Montgomery, nursing a strained adductor muscle, was the next Tech performer to compete when he took to the track in the 1500 trials. Montgomery, in his final season of eligibility, was determined to secure the championship that has eluded him. He ran a controlled race, saving as much as possible for the DMR later in the evening. He ran a 3:56.52 to advance to the final the next day.
The much anticipated DMR was the final event of the first night. MIT was the top seed by virtue of their 9:53 performance run at Boston University a month before. Brian Anderson '04, started things off as well as could be expected with a well paced 3:01 1200 leg. Yuval Mazor, a senior, got the job done with a 49.9 leg to keep MIT in 2nd place. Freshman Jesse Alejandro let the magnitude of the Championship get the best of him as he fell from 2nd to 5th in the final 400 of his 800 leg. Alejandro ran a 1:59 split to keep MIT in contention. Montgomery got the baton and immediately went to work on regaining the lost positions. He ran a 60 first quarter to move into 4th and a 2:03 to move into 3rd. However, at this point, the fast pace of the leaders combined with the injury and earlier race took a toll on him. Montgomery finished in 3rd place with an overall time of 10:02.35.
On Saturday, things led off with the 1500 finals. The race was set up perfectly for Montgomery as the early leaders took it out in 60 at the 400. In perfect position at 61, Montgomery moved up to the leaders at the 800 with a 2:04. The pace slowed but Montgomery was on the shoulder of the leader with a 3:08 1200. With just over one lap to run, Montgomery made a move to take the lead, was denied the position, and he seemed to lose everything. The final 200 he went from 2nd to 6th, finishing with a 3:55.69.
The 5000 was a race MIT hoped to capitalize on, but the confidence was perhaps not what it should have been. While Sean Nolan '03, and Dan Feldman '02, were seeded 2nd and 4th, they ran those times a month before, prior to both getting sick three week ago and missing some valuable training time. They started the race with a moderate pace of 70-71 second quarters, which led them to the first mile in 4:41. There was a lot of bumping, which seemed to have an effect on Nolan, who started to fall back at the 2 mile, which was a 9:29. Feldman did not respond to the leaders, who continued the 70-71 pace, but he maintained 72s through 2 1/4 miles. After two quarters of 73, Feldman picked it up again as he moved from 9th to 6th in the final 600 to finish in 14:51.14 and his first track All-America award.
While it may have been a disappointment to the Engineers, they nevertheless should be proud of the undefeated season, tie for the New England Division III Championship, and 6th place finish in the All New England Championship. Earning All-America in three events, and missing by one place in another, caps a great year of indoor track and field for MIT.