FINAL TUNEUP GETS MIT READY FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
February 14, 2004
MIT split their track team to take advantage of the best opportunities in hopes of maximizing their chances of upsetting Williams and Tufts next weekend for the New England Division III Championship. Most of the squad stayed at home to compete in the annual Coed Invitational while select individuals traveled across the river to Boston University to compete on their very fast banked track.
Some outstanding performances were turned in at both venues. At BU, Brian Anderson once again led the way. Anderson ran in a talent laden mile section that pushed a fast pace throughout the race. Anderson ran with the leaders through 1300 meters, then faded a little to finish in a PR of 4:10.11, the fastest time in the country for division III this year.
Uzoma Orji did not have his best day, but still showed he can throw well when things do not go his way. Orji finished 2nd in the shot put with a throw of 56-9 1/4. Chris Khan continued to improve at an incredible rate as he added nearly a foot to his personal best. Khan made the finals and threw 49-9 3/4 on his final throw.
David Blau improved his personal best in the 200 by running 22.90. Amazingly, he did this without the use of blocks because meet management only allowed the first three sections to use blocks.
Late in the meet, Ben Schmeckpeper took out his aggravation of being placed in the developmental section of the 3000 out on the rest of his section by running 8:30.85. Schmeckpeper's time was good enough to move him into 3rd place on the all time list for MIT.
Back at MIT Josh Chartier showed his consistency by again vaulting 14'. Nate Ball jumped for the first time in over a month and cleared 13'. The other field event outstanding performance was turned in by Francisco Cruz, who threw 43-3 1/4 for his best throw this season.
On the track, Jonathan Hsieh ran a personal best in the 200 with a 23.75. Steve Kannan also ran a PR by racing to a 1:27.67 performance in the 600. Marcus Carson knocked a hundredth off his 55HH best with a 8.28 performance. In his first collegiate race ever, graduate student Chris Fidkowski, ran an outstanding 1500 in 4:12.40. Fidkowski will undoubtedly add to his cross country success by having a great outdoor season. Last, but not least, Kevin Brulois made a breakthrough in the 5000 with a fine performance of 15:53.78.
With injuries to Zach Traina (sprints), Matt Lehman (400), Nestor Hernandez (LJ, PV), John Brewer (long relays) and Fivos Constantinou (long relays), there is no doubt that MIT will enter next weekend's championship as distinct underdogs. However, it has always been Tech's tradition to step up when needed and it certainly seems to be needed. The New England Division III Championship will be held at Bowdoin College on Friday and Saturday, February 20-21.