Gong and Virdi Lead MIT to 4th at NCAA Division III Championship

March 13-14, 2015

Entering the NCAA Division III Championship the women were ranked fourth and the men 16th based on their entries. The women had been ranked first for the previous three weeks, but taking Sarah Quinn '16 out of the meet cost the Engineers significant points as she was high ranked in the Mile, 3K and 5K. Quinn injured her knee a month earlier and was not able to run. The women were hoping for a podium finish, which awards the top four teams with an NCAA Championship trophy.

The first event for MIT was the Women's Pole Vault. Cimmy Virdi '16 was seeded first and was the defending National Champion. She also was awarded the NCAA Division III New England Women's Indoor Field Event Athlete of the Year for dominating her event all season. Abby Klein '15 was seeded 16th, having qualified for the 17 person field for the first time. The opening height was 11-1 3/4, which Klein cleared on her first attempt. One competitor did not compete due to a broken arm, but everyone who attempted that first height cleared it. At 11-7 3/4 two women fouled out, one of them being Klein. At 12-1 1/2 five more fouled out leaving only nine competitors remaining. At 12-5 1/2 six more fouled out leaving three remaining, with one of them being Virdi who had not entered the competition as yet. She entered at 12-7 1/2, clearing on the first attempt. 12-9 1/2 claimed Silva of Bowdoin, leaving just Virdi and Kalsey of Westminster. Both cleared 13-1 1/2, but Virdi did it on her first attempt and Kalsey her third attempt. Neither vaulter cleared 13-3 1/2 giving Virdi the title and 10 points for her team.

The trials of the Mile Run were next. Maryann Gong '17, running the first of four races, was in the second heat. They were taking the top three from each heat plus the next four fastest times to the final. The first heat was pedestrian with the 800 split at 2:42. It picked up from there, but the fourth place time was 5:13, so all Gong had to do was be among the top seven, and faster than 5:13 and she would make the finals. With the DMR later in the afternoon she did not want to expend more energy than necessary. She started off casually in 39 for the initial 200, but that put her in the lead. She realized no one was going to take the lead and so ran what was comfortable, which was 76 quarters, coming through the 800 in 2:32. The third quarter slowed a bit to a 3:50 as she finally relinquished the lead. The pace picked up as Gong went with the two leaders, running a 5:02.09 for third place, automatically qualifying for the final. Gong was awarded the NCAA Division III Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year for her amazing season thus far and hoped to continue the domination of her events.

Colin Godwin '17, a freshman from an eligibility standpoint, just squeaked into the NCAA field for the Mile Run as he was seeded 22nd going into the selection, but some entered other events, opening up the opportunity. Godwin seized that opportunity. He mistakenly took the lead at the start and no one was about to take it from him. With the first heat running 4:15 at the front, the pace needed to be honest if anyone hoped to qualify on time. Godwin split 66 and 2:12 before others came up and took the lead, picking up the pace to a 3:15. Godwin almost got caught on the rail, but got out okay, went around two runners and finished in 59 for a 4:14.59 second place finish and advancement to tomorrow's final.

The Men's 400 was up with States Lee '16 seeded fifth going into the meet. He drew lane three with them only using lanes three through six, giving him a difficult shot at earning the break. With the wide turns and very short straights, getting the break was key to making the final. Despite a well run 22.6, Lee was clearly going to be in second at the break. Unfortunately he made the mistake of closing all the way down to the rail, allowing the outside runner to box him in, causing him to break a little. Becoming frustrated and trying to get out of the box on the backstretch, he got tangled with another runner and fell hard. He got up and finished but well out of contention.

Sam Parker '15 was in the 800 trials and hoping to make it to the final for the first time. He was in the second of two heats, so he knew that the first heat was out reasonably fast. His heat began, but no one really took it out. Parker was in second place at 29.0 at the 200 and still in second at 58.5. The pace picked up in the third 200, dropping Parker back to third at the 600 in 1:26.1. When they picked up the pace further, Parker was unable to go with them, finishing in 1:56.40 and out of the finals.

Ellen Liverpool '15 seemed to be out of her element in the Weight Throw. Not having her throwing mates and usual team atmosphere threw her off a bit. Her best throw was 52-2 3/4, finishing 1n 13th position.

In the 5K, Nicole Zeinstra '16 and Elaine McVay '15 were hoping to add some points to the MIT total. The initial pace was quick. Zeinstra went out in the middle of the 17 runner field, splitting 5:18 at the 1600. McVay's lower back was bothering her a lot prior to the race and appeared to be affecting her in the race as well. She was pretty far back in the field, splitting a still quick 5:22 at the 1600, much faster than she is accustomed to running. McVay continued to fade, dropping out after 3200. Zeinstra stayed in eighth place, coming through 3200 in 10:51, but then started slowing down quite a bit. At 4600 meters they rang the bell for what they thought was the final lap. Everyone was confused, but started sprinting. When the runners crossed the finish line, thinking the race was over, they were told to keep running by their coaches as there was one more lap remaining. Since this completely changed the results, the NCAA decided to take the places as they were at the end of 4800 meters. That left Zeinstra in 11th place and out of the scoring.

The final race of the night was the Distance Medley Relay. the start of the race was very unusual in that no one wanted to take the 1200 out. Christina Wicker '17 was representing MIT in the opening leg and could not get out of the pack. The 400 split was 71 and slowed down from there. The 800 split was 2:27 and things finally opened up. Wicker had used a lot of energy trying to get out of the pack earlier in the race but was unable to do so. This cost her in the end as she handed off in fourth in 3:40.3. Hannah Chen '18 immediately moved into third, passing on the turn. She died a bit in the final 100, fading to fourth at the handoff. Cindy Huang '15 was anxious and left too early, having to slow down a lot at the handoff. She ran a very intelligent, well-paced race, splitting 33, 67, 1:41 and 2:16.5 despite her injured achilles, moving into third at the handoff, between six and seven seconds behind the two leaders. Gong had nothing in mind but winning and went out to get the job done. Her initial quarter was 71.1 then slowed to 2:25.3 as she led the chase group, having closed to within four seconds at the half way mark. In the next lap Gong caught the team from St. Thomas and aimed for the leader from Chicago. After splitting a 75 she started closing hard. With 100 to go she went around the leader, but the runner from St. Thomas had stayed on her heels and went around Gong at the same time. This surprised Gong who thought she was home free. Her sprint home was for second place, not first. The final time was 11:47.43.

Going into day two, the women had 18 points and were tied for second with Illinois Wesleyan. UW Oshkosh was in first with 24 points. The men were yet to get on the board. In the Men's Triple Jump, the first event of day two, Arinze Okeke '17 had a pretty good first jump at 45-1 1/2, but fell back, losing a little distance in the process. His heel had been bothering him, but he also messed up his approach on the two remaining jumps, not completing either one. His one successful jump was not enough to make it to the final.

The Women's Mile was next for MIT, which meant Gong would be in her third mile in two days. Although she was favored, she was tired. The pace was pretty slow, which should have worked to her advantage. The half mile split was 2:34 and the three quarter at 3:48. Gong took off, but off such a slow pace, others were able to go with her. Her 68 final 400 was not enough as two went around her in the final 100, leaving her in third place in 4:57.42. MIT now had 24 points.

Colin Godwin was up next for the Men's Mile final. Unlike the women's race, the men's pace was fast. The quarter splits were 63, 2:07 and 3:12. Godwin made a move at 1000 meters, moving up through the pack, but then he stopped his forward progrss in the pack and slid back. When the group moved he was able to go with them, but not at the same speed. He finished in 4:15.36, a very respectable rookie showing.

Going into the Women's 3K, MIT was in sixth place as a team and needed as many points as possible to get the team on the podium. Gong was tired but determined. Wicker was also in the race, and seemed ready to get the job done. Most of the top runners had run the 5K the night before, so keeping the pace sane was not going to be an issue. The first mile was 5:20 for Wicker and 5:21 for Gong who was chilling in the back of the pack. With 1000 meters to go the pace picked up. Gong went with them, but Wicker did not. With 200 to go, Gong took off, opening up a 10 meter lead by the finish as her 33 final 200 gave her the victory in 9:47.62.

The 10 points earned in the 3K put MIT in fourth place, the final podium finish receiving an NCAA Championship trophy. With one event remaining, the 4x400, only one team could bump MIT off the podium, UW Eau Claire. They were the third seed going into the 4x400. Finishing second would tie them with the Engineers, and winning would bump MIT out altogether. Leading in the third leg up until the final baton exchange, Eau Claire came from behind in the final 100 and nearly claimed the win, losing first place by .05 seconds. Their second place tied them with MIT for fourth place with 34 points.

The men's 4x400 Relay was the final event and MIT was seeded seventh, putting them in the second of three sections. Knowing it was incredibly difficult to pass on the short straights, States Lee was determined to take the break. He succeeded, but his 22.3 first lap it took to accomplish that task, took its toll in the final 100. Although he maintained the inside lane, he had slipped to second at the handoff, clocking a 49.5. Derek Barnes '16 left a little early, had to slow to receive the baton, which allowed another team to pass, putting Tech in third. He ran one of his best legs ever, finishing in 49.3. Sam Parker '15 also left early, again losing ground and momentum at the handoff, allowing another team to slip past, putting MIT in fourth. Parker ran 50.5, losing some ground before handing off to Michael Kaba '16. Kaba was not able to make up ground on the anchor legs, and his achilles was clearly affecting him in the final 100, finishing with a total time of 3:20.89.

The Indoor season is over, but the Outdoor season has already started for many teams around the country. MIT will get underway with a meet at Bridgewater State College next Saturday, a meet where only their distance runners will compete.

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