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Women 5th, Men 16th at NCAA Division III Championship--Virdi Wins Third Consecutive Indoor Title

 

The NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championship, hosted by Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, started exactly the way MIT hoped.  The first event was the Women's Pole Vault, and even though Cimmy Virdi '16, the two-time defending champion, took three attempts to clear her opening height of 12-9 1/2, she ended up winning the event with a vault of 13-7 1/2, a new MIT record.  Initially she was blowing through her poles, but on her third attempt at 12-9 1/2 she moved up to a pole that worked, barely, as she brushed the bar on the way down.  At this point there were three vaulters remaining going to 12-11 1/2.  Virdi cleared on her first attempt, while Marissa Kalsey '16 from Westminster missed all three attempts and Katherine Pitman '18 from Ithaca, the top seed, cleared on her second attempt.  At 13-1 1/2 Cimmy again cleared on her first attempt.  Pitman missed all three, giving the third successive indoor title, and fourth overall to Virdi.  She then cleared an MIT and facility record of 13-6 1/2 (4.13), also on her first attempt.  The bar was then moved up to 4.22 meters, or 13-10, which would be a new NCAA Division III indoor record.  On her third attempt, Virdi was over, just brushing it on the way down, but nevertheless knocking the bar off.

As soon as Virdi finished, Maryann Gong '17 was up in the trials of the Mile Run.  The plan was for her to sit in the back and let the race develop before taking over and winning at the end.  Gong did not listen to the plan as she is very uncomfortable sitting in the back of the pack.  She hung out in the middle as the pace gradually picked up from an initial 400 of 79 to a 77 for a 2:36 880.  As the field came through in 3:50 at the 1200, Gong took the lead, running a relaxed 70 for the final 400 to win her heat in 5:00.13.

Michael Kaba '16 was not expected to score in the 60HH, but he certainly came close to making the finals.  The senior ran 8.24, his second fastest time ever, finishing 12th in the field.

The 400 trials did not go so well for Tech.  States Lee '16 was up first.  He has run faster this indoor season than ever before, breaking his own indoor record, resetting it at 48.00.  However, his flat track performances have not been as spectacular as in years past.  It turns out he has not been driving his left leg on the turns, which is a key to success on flat tracks with tight turns.  Unfortunately for Lee, Coach Halston Taylor did not realize he had not been driving off his left until the 400 trials.  After getting the break in a solid 22.9 he suddenly lost gas at the 300 mark, having the entire heat pass him by in the final 100.  It became obvious on the turns that Lee was not driving as he finished in 50.06.  Hannah Chen '18 was next.  She was obviously very tense going into the race, pretty much forgetting that racing and having the opportunity to show your talent is fun.  Her anxiety showed as she was tight coming out of the blocks and never got better.  Because of pure fitness she ran a flat track personal best of 58.35.  Neither Lee nor Chen made the finals.

Next up for the Engineers was the Men's 800 Trials.  Freshman Jarod Wilson, seeded eighth, but having just run 1:49.70, had the third best performance in the field. However, since that performance occurred the day after the qualifying period ended, the performance was not allowed for seeding purposes.  Wilson psyched himself out prior to the start of the race, tried to counter that by getting out hard on the outside of the inside alley and ended up expending way too much energy.  He ended up in the lead since pretty much no one wants to lead early in the trials.  He slowed the pace, eventually losing the lead after the first 200.  He got himself on the rail, was boxed in for a little while, got out, made too big a move too late on the straight and was rejected.  From that point on he gave up, jogging it in in 1:59.94. Not the best nationals debut.

In the 200, Tre Albritten '18 had drawn lane five, a very favorable lane and took advantage of it, winning his heat in 22.00, the fifth fastest time in the trials.  The sophomore will have lane five in the two section final.

Mary Eccles '18 seeded 12th in the 5K knew she would have to take a risk with the pace, running 82 second 400's.  The top seed, Amy Regan '16 from Steven's Institute, took off at the gun, making it a race for second place.  The field locked in to the predicted 82 pace, which Eccles followed along with at the back of the pack.  The pace was crisp as Eccles came through the 1600 in 5:25.  Eccles moved up gradually through the second mile, actually running a PR for 3K (10:17) as she moved up into eighth place.  After the halfway point her pace slowed to 85's and she started losing places after 3600 meters.  She ran a great race, not fearing the eventual fatigue, placing 10th in 17:31.00.

The Men's 4x400 Relay Trials was next for MIT.  Seeded third, the goal was to get in the lead and keep it, thus saving valuable time on handing off in the outside lanes.  Kaba led off, doing a great job of getting the break and holding onto the lead, splitting 49.6.  Lee lost the lead on the handoff, but regained it in the second lap to give Derek Barnes '16 a small lead.  Barnes ran a fantastic leg, opening up a 15 meter lead early in the first 200 and holding onto a nice lead with his 49.4 as he handed off to Danny Newman '17.  Newman ran a 49.4 anchor, but got passed in the final five meters of the race.  The 3:18.12 was second in their heat, but third overall, qualifying them for Saturday's final.

The final event of the day for MIT was the final of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR).  Seeded number one, the quartet of Nicole Zeinstra '16, Chen, Bailey Tregoning '19 and Gong wanted to stay close enough to the front of the pack so that Gong would not have to do so much work that she hurt her Mile Run and 3K finals the next day. Zeinstra got bounced back off the line at the start. She then made numerous moves to no avail. At the end of a 70 first 400 she was near the back of the pack and things just got worse from there. She handed off to Chen after a 3:41.5 1200, putting MIT more than 50 meters behind. Chen did not move MIT up, running 59.1. Tregoning has an amazing competitive spirit, but not much control or patience. Her opening 200 of 29 moved her up in the field but pretty much doomed the end result. By the time she hit the 400 in 64 she was within twenty meters of the lead. That was when the wheels fell off the bus. Her final 400 was a 76, finishing in 2:20.7 as she fell to the back of the field. Gong made up thirty meters in the first 400 (70 seconds) and by 600 was with the lead pack. Coach Halston Taylor motioned for her to stay at that point rather than keep up her pace and take the lead. The strategy was to save as much energy as possible for Saturday's races, while still hoping she could outkick the leaders in the DMR. Gong came through the 800 in 2:25 and the 1200 in 3:38 as the pace picked up. Emily Gapinski, a senior from St. Thomas sprinted to the front and no one was able to match her speed. When Gong cut her momentum it also affected her mentally, taking away some of her confidence. She was able to run 4:50.7 but only managed sixth place in an overall time of 11:52.11.

Saturday began with the Men's Triple Jump.  MIT was represented by Arinze Okeke '17 and Billy Ruschel '18.  Ruschel was in the first flight.  His jumps were very consistent, all within a couple inches of each other, but his 45-10 was only good enough for 12th place.  Okeke, in the second flight, waited until his final attempt in the trials to jump far enough to make the finals as the eighth best jumper.  In the finals he immediately improved to sixth place, and then on his final attempt he jumped a new indoor PR of 48-1 3/4, which moved him to fourth place and the first points for MIT's men's team.

Gong was now up in the Mile Run Final.  Her instincts were to just go out and hammer the pace to take everyone's kick away, but knowing she had the 3K later that day, better judgment prevailed.  The pace was honest, but not exceptional as she ran 74, 2:29 and 3:44 through the first three quarters.  In the final quarter, Gapinski again sprinted away.  Gong moved into second coming into the final straight but was passed just before the finish as she ran out of gas at the end.  Her final time was 4:54.67 for her third mile in less than 24 hours.

Albritten earned lane 5 in the 200, but was in a very fast section.  He seemed to lack a little of what he had on Friday.  Coming into the finish he was fourth out of four in his section, but finished seventh overall in 22.31.  This was MIT's first ever male All American in the 200.

Gong was back at it with the 3K.  The assumption was that Regan, the winner of the 5K, would take the pace out hard in the 3K.  As tired as Gong was she had to make a strong commitment before the race started that she would go with Regan, and if she got dropped at some point she would continue to fight.  The risk was big, but she was committed.  Sure enough, Regan started out with a 35 first 200 and the entire field joined the fray.  Gong came through the 400 in 72, right on Regan's heels and stayed there as the pace slowed to a more reasonable 77 pace.  Regan and Gong hit the 1600 in 5:04 with Regan opening up a slight gap as the rest of the field strung out. Zeinstra, also in the race, had planned on picking off those who went out too fast, but with the entire field going out hard she got sucked out as well.  Her 1600 split of 5:10 did her in.  Gong lost four seconds to Regan by the 2400 mark, but expanded her lead on the chase group to seven seconds with 200 to go.  Gong neither lost nor gained ground on Regan, finishing in second in a flat track PR of 9:35.00.  Her time would have been a new NCAA Division III Championship record had Regan not run 9:30.80.  Zeinstra finished 15th in 10:07.52.

At this point the women were in fourth place and had slim hopes of getting on the podium as one of the top four teams.  Washington University of St. Louis was six points back and had the top seeded team in the 4x400 Relay.  As expected, Wash U won the event, dropping MIT to fifth, a very respectable finish.

The final event for the men was the 4x400 Relay.  They were in the first section of the two section final. Kaba led off, knowing he needed to get the break and did so, coming through the 200 in 22.6.  He fatigued at the end, but held the lead with a 49.6 as he passed to Newman.  Newman shot out, gaining a quick advantage and held a two meter lead at the handoff with a 49.3 leg.  Barnes got out extremely well, expanding the lead with his excellent 49.1 leg. Lee took it out hard, but was still having problems with the turns.  He faded as he came in to the finish but held the lead with his 49.7 to give MIT a 3:17.84.  The next section had three teams that beat MIT's time, putting them in fourth place. The men's 12 points were good for a tie for 16th place, a very strong team place.

Prior to the meet, at the Awards Banquet, The MIT coaches and athletes were awarded quite well.  Cimmy Virdi was voted New England Region Female Field Athlete of the Year.  Maryann Gong was voted New England Region Female Track Athlete of the Year and Arinze Okeke was voted New England Region Male Field Event Athlete of the Year.  Coach Halston Taylor was voted both Men's and Women's New England Region Head Coach of the Year.

Going into the Outdoor Track and Field season, the women have a total of eight points (three for cross country and five for indoor track and field) towards the Vercauteren Award for the top program in the country.  This total leads the country along with Washington University, also with eight points. Which of the two teams that finishes higher at the Outdoor Championship will determine the winner of the Vercauteren Award.

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