February 26-27, 1999

The Intercollegiate Track and Field Championships were held at Boston University this past Friday and Saturday. The meet showcases the best men's track and field performers in all three divisions throughout New England.

For MIT's part, unless the team has a really good opportunity to place among the top 10 teams, the meet is used to provide those who have an opportunity to qualify for nationals, or those who want to extend a good season. For the rest of the team, getting an early start on Outdoor Track and Field, or in a few guys case, getting healthy is the goal.

Todd Chamoy, a qualifier in the Weight Throw, was the first to compete. Todd did not have much success in the circle and had to settle with a mark of 46-9.

Neal Karchem was first on the track in the 500 Meter Run. Neal was hoping to make the MIT top 10 list in this event and needed a huge personal best of 1:07.49 to do it. Neal went out hard at the 200 and came through the 400 in good position with a 52.7. However, he was not able to maintain his speed in the final 100 as he finished just short of his goal with a 1:07.86.

In the 1000 Meters, Leif Seed, seeded 8th, was hoping to place a little higher and possibly score. In the trials on Friday Leif ran with the leaders in his heat through even splits of 29, 59, 1:29, and 2:00 before finishing with a 2:30.07. Leif finished 2nd in his heat, which was enough to get him into Saturday's final.

In the final, Leif started in the back to stay clear of contact and too fast a start, but still came through 200 n 28. By the 400 the pace had slowed to 58 seconds and Leif was still in the rear although less than 1 second behind the leader. At the end of the 3rd lap, separation began to take place, forcing Leif to move up to 5th place to stay with the leaders. The pace picked up and the group came through in 1:57. Leif looked as though he had an opportunity to sprint to the lead on the back straight but did not seize it. He stayed his ground and finished with a solid 5th place, tying Ethan Crain's Varsity Record of 2:27.14.

The last event for MIT on Friday was the 5000 Meter Run. In the slow section, Chris McGuire and Mike Parkins were the top 2 seeds, both at 15:16. Chris took the lead at the gun and never relented. Chris and Mike came through the 1st mile in 4:45 in their effort to qualify for nationals. Maintaining pace, they ran the 2nd mile in 4:48, putting themselves in great position to qualify. Beginning the third mile, Mike began to fall back as McGuire continued to hold pace. Chris slowed slightly with a 4:50 3rd mile, but kicked in with a 33 last 200 to provisionally qualify in 14:56.98. Mike slowed due to a pain in his groin, but managed to run a season best of 15:07.62 and finish 2nd.

The fast section had two more Tech runners, Mark Strauss and Dan Feldman. Dan was still feeling the effects of the flu but thought he was well enough to race. The race immediately broke up into 3 groups, two runners from Brown running well up front, followed by two runners from UMass, who were themselves well in front of the rest of the pack. At the mile mark, the groups were about the same, but the pack, coming through in 4:42 had closed the gap on the UMass runners. By the two mile, Feldman started to show the signs of his illness as he fell slightly behind the pack at 9:31. Strauss was right with the pack who had not only caught the two UMass runners but also one of the Brown runners. The pack opened up a 20 meter lead on Strauss with only 1000 meters to go. With 600 meters to go, Strauss decided to go for it, running a 68 quarter to put himself only 15 meters out of 2nd. Running the final 200 in 31 seconds, Strauss moved into 3rd place and pulled up alongside 2nd. However the 2nd place runner made a sprint of his own, finishing less than 1 second ahead of Strauss, who qualified for nationals with a school record of 14:43.29. Feldman faded to 15:14.95, not too bad for a freshman with the flu. MIT now has three individuals provisionally or automatically qualified for nationals and three of the 16 fastest times in the country for Division III.

The final effort for MIT was in the Triple Jump where Kalpak Kothari was trying to extend his season another week. Kalpak made the finals with a 43-10 effort, and had a 1 inch foul that was over 45 feet, but did not place.

Next week, a few guys still trying to qualify, or improve their position for nationals, will be competing either at the IC4A Championships at the new Reggie Lewis Track in Boston, or the ECAC Division III Meet at Boston University.