TECH TRACK STEPS IT UP TO WIN 4TH STRAIGHT NEWMAC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
April 24, 2004
After a somewhat disappointing regular season due to a lack of depth in all events, MIT Men's track and field team stepped up their intensity and performances to defend their NEWMAC Conference championship, winning the event for the fourth year in succession and fifth in the six year history of the event. MIT's 178 points, was enough to outpoint favored Springfield by 30 points. MIT, seeded to score 161 points, matched or exceeded their seed points in every event except the 800 and 5000. The Engineers even scratched from the final event, the 1600 relay since there was no need to pile up points or add fatigue to those getting ready for next week's championship.
Nearly everything came together for the Engineers on this sunny but extremely windy day. Uzoma Orji, seeded to win his three events (hammer, discus, shot put) did just that. Orji began the day in the hammer, an event he has struggled with lately as he tries to strike a balance of position and speed. He found some of that balance, winning with a throw of 176-4. His second event, the discus throw is another event Orji is trying to get comfortable with. His technique is coming around but is not at the point where he can put all of effort into the throw. In this competition, he was again able to find the correct positions, throwing 151-10 to win by nine feet. Orji's specialty, the shot put, is starting to come around after a few weeks of working on some basics. Orji simply focused on throwing far and certainly accomplished that, setting a new meet and MIT record with a put of 56-11 1/4.
Zach Traina brought his game and came to play. Traina led off the 4x100 relay, opening up a 10 meter lead at the first handoff to lead Tech to a third place finish against a very talented group of sprint teams. In the 100 trials and finals, Traina showed he is ready for the championships, running 10.95 in the finals for 2nd place. A loss of focus and not getting the most out of his start cost him the victory, but there is the New England Division III Championships next week and another opportunity to run the perfect race. Traina's specialty, the 200, looked perfect for the first 180 meters, but then he tried too hard, slowing a bit coming into the finish line. Despite the technical flaws, Traina won the race in 22.41.
Due to the wind, most of MIT's other big points came in clusters where the individuals on the team worked together and helped each other to defeat the other teams. A perfect example was the extreme effort in the pole vault by MIT's trio of Nate Ball, Nestor Hernandez and Josh Chartier. Despite an inconsistent crosswind that would sometimes change to a tailwind, Hernandez and Chartier fought their way one height at a time, helping each other with advice to finally clear 12-9 to outlast all other vaulters except teammate Ball, who had yet to come in. At 13-3 Ball's first attempt was not successful as the wind prevented him from attaining a clean bend of the pole, sending him into the right standard. With his teammates encouragement, Ball made the next attempt with over a foot to spare. Given the risk of the wind, Ball stopped their, satisfied with MIT's 1-2-3 sweep.
Another example came in the long jump, an event that has not gone well for MIT all year. Hernandez was back from his hamstring injury but was suffering from an illness that had him on antibiotics during the week. The jumpers rallied like they haven't done since last year. All jumpers had year bests, with rookie graduate student, Stuart Laval, leading the way with a PR of 20-11 3/4 for third place. Right behind Laval was Hernandez at 20-5 1/2 for 4th. Thad Wozniak jumped 19-11 to garner the last scoring spot. Chris Bateman, who had just secured a sixth place in the high jump missed scoring in the long jump by one place, jumping a season best of 19-6 3/4.
The first running event showed further evidence of MIT's team work. Spencer Dudley and Ian Driver, running the 10K for the first time, worked together and followed the plan to perfection. Both ran 82 second quarters perfectly through three miles, letting others do the work of leading the race. After three miles, Dudley picked up the pace to take over second place for good, finishing in 33:48.68. Driver could not follow but managed to open up a lead over fourth place. With one mile to go, the fourth place runner had closed the gap on Driver to three seconds and had been moving up two seconds per lap. Driver responded to the urging by his teammates, dropping the pace to 77 over the final two laps to pull away and secure third place in 34:15.24.
In the steeple chase, Carlos Renjifo, Chris Fidkowski and Robbie Bryant all ran personal bests or right at it despite the strong winds. Renjifo took the lead after one lap and broke the wind for the rest of the pack, but still winning in 9:56.53, a time within two tenths of his best. Fidkowski followed, at times working side by side with Renjifo, but finishing in second in a best of 9:59.32. Bryant struggled the entire race to stay with the pack, sometimes falling two seconds out and looking like he would not get back in it, but each time he did just that. In the final lap and a half Bryant pulled into third and never looked back, finishing in a PR of 10:02.19.
In the 5000 meter race, Coach Halston Taylor had the MIT contingent, two of which were returning from the 1500 race, hold back for the first half of the race so they would not have to fight the wind or overly fatigue themselves. The objective was to place high enough to secure the team victory. This they did, as Ben Schmeckpeper led Kevin Brulois and Eric Khatchadourian to a 2-3-4 finish.
Other MIT athletes displayed superior performances to place well. Makinde Adeagbo, competing in the triple jump, added two feet to his best, jumping 42-4 3/4 to place second and qualify for the New England Division III Championships next weekend. In the 1500, despite the 76 second first quarter, MIT runners placed second, fourth and fifth as Brian Anderson came within .21 seconds of the win but his still healing hamstring would not allow him to kick. Schmeckpeper and John Brewer assisted with the fourth and fifth places.
Next week, MIT takes twenty qualifiers to the New England Division III Championships at Williams College. MIT is not expected to be a threat for the title but they are sure to be a presence.