Gong, Okonkwo Set Leading Marks in NCAA Division III
January 21, 2017
The MIT Women's Track and Field team easily won the Bowdoin Invitational II against Bowdoin, Merrimack, Tufts and the University of Southern Maine, and in the process established themselves once again as one of the top teams vying for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship. Maryann Gong '17, still coming back from an early season achilles tendon injury, ran an NCAA Division III leading time in the 3K of 9:46.91, while Nneoma Okonkwo '18 took four jumps in the Long Jump and two of them were over 19', the best an NCAA leading 19-4 1/4, good for a new MIT record. Tech dominated with 239 points to 113 for runner-up Southern Maine, 101 for Tufts, 76 for Bowdoin and 43 for Division II Merrimack.
The men's team also won the meet, although it was a much bigger struggle and instead of establishing a national leading mark, Arinze Okeke '17 likely fractured his fibula when his takeoff foot slid on the foul board on his first attempt in the Long Jump. Okeke had the third best mark in the country for the Triple Jump and was the leader in both jumps in New England Division III. Despite the loss, the team rallied to win with 181 points to 135 for host Bowdoin, 120 for Tufts who held out their top distance runners, 74 for Southern Maine and 42 for Merrimack.
The women still lack any significant depth outside of the Pole Vault and distance events, but made the most of their entries, winning 11 of the 17 events they entered (not entering the 4x200 and 4x400 Relay events). Winning two victories a piece were Ariela Slutsky '18 and Okonkwo. Slutsky won the Weight Throw with a new PR of 54-7 1/4, which is 13th on the NCAA list and number two on the New England list. She then came back and took first place honors in the Shot Put, throwing 39-1 1/4. In addition to Okonkwo's amazing long jump, she also won the 60 Meter Dash in a season best 7.91.
Some really outstanding performances were established by many team members. Marissa McPhillips '20 showed that her competitive spirit far outweighed her fatigue. She first led the Mile Run from the start to the final quarter where she got out-kicked, but took second place in 5:09.35. McPhillips came back in the 800, again leading from the start, but this time pulled away at the finish to win in 2:19.93. Finally she led off the 4x800 team that nearly lapped the field in an excellent time of 9:27.02. Her lead-off leg was an outstanding 2:19.9.
Fellow middle-distance freshman Katie Bacher did not win an event, but shared the triple, substituting the 1000 for the 800. In the Mile, Bacher faded in the last 400 to sixth place in 5:16.34, held onto third in the 1000 in 3:04.92 and contributed to the 4x800 with a 2:23.9 leg.
Bailey Tregoning '19, ran her first 1000 of the year, winning easily in 2:58.67. She also came back to anchor the 4x800, but missed an opportunity to put the time under 9:20 as she ran 2:20.8.
Hannah Chen '18 competed in her first 400 this year, winning going away in 59.27. She thought she also won the 200, as she came from behind to win the fast section in 26.89. However, she lost to the winner of the previous section by .29.
In the vertical jumps, Natalie Alper '17 did not have her best performance, but nevertheless won the High Jump at 4-11 3/4. While the pole vaulters did not get the event victory they did dominate the 21 performer field by taking six places from second to a two-way tie for sixth, claiming 21 points in the 10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring format. Kari Stromhaug '19 led the way with a clear of 11-5 3/4.
Also doing exceptionally well in a non-winning effort, Haley Strouf '18 leapt a personal best 17-8 3/4 in the Long Jump to take second behind Okonkwo. Her effort moved her to a tie for second on the MIT all-time indoor list.
Gong led the 3K from start to finish, taking it out in 5:13 when she had planned for 5:12. After a couple quarters in 79, she dropped down to 77 and finished with a 38 200 to show she had more in the tank. About an hour later she added a 2:22 800 leg on the 4x800 win. Bailey Margolis '19 and Jenna Melanson '20 added a second and third in 10:22.58 and 10:29.74 respectively.
Mary Eccles '18 led the comeback effort by Megan McCandless '20 to victory in the 5K. Eccles and McCandless planned to work together throughout the race, but McCandless showed she is still "out of shape" as she makes her comeback from plantar fasciitis. With an initial 1600 of 5:33, McCandless fell off the crisp pace. After another 1600 of 5:39 Eccles began to slow as she had no help other than lapping other participants. A final 1600 of 5:51 threw her off her goal, but her 17:49.17 was an excellent effort and a great win. McCandless held onto second place in 18:15.12.
Of particular note, Gabriella Zak '20 showed her competitive spirit and the attitude it takes to win championships when she disregarded the effects of the flu she suffered this week to place fourth in the 60HH in 9.62 and sixth in the 200 (27.28). She also attempted the Long Jump but did not have a fair jump.
Overall, the men's team, which was expected to be a dominant force this year despite losing a lot of points from last year's championship team due to graduation, has had a problem with poor performances in the sprints, and injuries that have affected the entire team. In this particular meet, the combination of the two led to a struggle to find a victory.
The Engineers were only able to manage five individual victories out of the 18 events. Both Bowdoin's and Tuft's teams seemed to have more energy and a more supportive attitude and it showed in many performances. Still, many individuals competed well for Tech, but it did not transfer to the entire team. MIT was in a battle with both Bowdoin and Tufts throughout the meet until the final four events.
Of those final four events, three went really well for MIT. The first was the Pole Vault. The trio of Bobby Upton '20, Scott Cameron '19 and Raja Rajcic '20 did not get the individual win, but they did secure second, third and fourth for 18 big points. Upton cleared a PR of 14-11 to lead the way. Cameron added a third place 14-5 1/4 and Rajcic cleared 13-5 1/4 for fourth place.
The second of those events was the 5K. For whatever reason, Tech had six of the eight entries. This was a perfect setup for a fast pace since the competition was minimal and even if they tried and failed the Engineers were pretty much guaranteed the top four places and should have been a top six sweep. Instead, only Josh Derrick '20, as he continues his comeback from a stress fracture during the Cross Country season, took the initiative. Derrick, hoping for his teammates to help out, was stranded after the first 1600, which was a respectable 4:48. Derrick ran a 4:50 second 1600 and no teammates were within 10 seconds. His lack of help and his own lack of focus showed up in the final 1800 meters as he slowed to a 4:59, but was able to close in a 34 final 200 for a 15:11.51. Nicholas Waltman '18 (15:31.16), Alex Knoedler '18 (15:31.88), Daniel Weiss '19 (15:43.38) and Brian Gilligan '17 (16:12.32) took places 2, 3, 4, and 6 to earn 29 points and seal the team victory.
In the final event, MIT needed to run a strong 4x800 Relay as it would be the only opportunity to qualify for the fast section in the New England Division III Championship. Nathan Munet '19, who had place third in the 800 in 1:56.73, led off with a 1:57.5 leg, leading from gun to handoff. Chris Mutty '19, who had raced the 600 earlier, ran a solid 2:01.7 second leg. Billy Woltz '20, not having the best day, running a 2:42.06 1000 earlier in the meet, fell off in his final lap, splitting 2:04.7. Tyndale Hannan '20, earlier placed second in the 800 with a 1:56.69 performance, anchored the team to victory with a 1:57.2 leg for a cumulative time of 8:01.32.
One of the key victories along the way was established by undefeated Alec Reduker '20, clearing 6-8 in the High Jump. Matt Deyo 'G won the Mile with a well run 4:20.08 and then came back to place second in the 1000 in 2:35.96. Although he may have gotten away with a lane line violation, Tre Albritten, the sole sprinter getting the job done, claimed first place honors in the 200 with his 22.33 performance.
Three additional field events stood out for MIT. In the Triple Jump, Billy Ruschel '18 took second place in 46-7 1/2 and Ryan Prinster '18 jumped a PR of 45-3 for fourth. Jon Fakkema '19 had a strong day, first throwing a PR in the Weight Throw with a 50-10 3/4 third place performance and then in the Shot Put, joined teammate Cody Bratten '18 for a third and fourth place effort. Bratten threw 45-1 for third and Fakkema 44-0 1/2 for fourth.
Both teams need to get more of their injured and sick athletes back. However, where the women have the right attitude, the men do not. The next four weeks will determine the legacy of this team and their ability to defend their New England Division III titles.
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