ENGINEEERS PLACE 5TH WITH FIVE ATHLETS AT ECAC DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP
May 20, 2005
MIT made the trip to the ECAC Division III Championship being hosted by Springfield College with only five of the athletes who had qualified. The ECAC Division III Championship for most teams is simply a last chance qualifier. Due to the fact that it is during exam week, and it being an easier meet than the IC4A or All New Englands being held the previous weekend, it makes little sense to bring back athletes who are not trying to meet the NCAA championship qualifying standard. Even though MIT has six athletes who are at least provisionally qualified for nationals, only four of them made the trip to Springfield, while Nate Ball and Ben Schmeckpeper stayed home. The four NCAA qualifiers who competed, Brian Anderson, Uzoma Orji, David Saylor and Zach Traina, joined David Blau in an attempt to improve their best performances this season. All five athletes placed in each event they participated in, scoring a total of 33 1/2 points for fifth place.
The first event of the day was the hammer throw. Orji and Saylor were seeded second and fourth. Saylor needed to improve his mark of 176-8 in order to make the field for the NCAA Championship. On his last throw of the trials, Saylor threw a personal best of 177-7, which placed him fourth overall. Orji waited until the first throw of the finals to get his personal best, a toss of 188-8, good enough for the victory. Saylor passed one person on the national list and tied another, although another competitor in the field passed him.
In the 100, Blau, seeded 11th, qualified for the finals with a 11.08 time in the trials. In the finals he did not have his best race but still ran 11.16, good for eighth place. Later, Blau returned to the track in the 200 along with teammate Traina. Blau, seeded 13th, was in the next to last section and placed third in that section and tied for eighth overall with a remarkable time of 22.32 into the wind. While the performance does not match his PR of 22.16 run last week, that time was done with a significant tailwind. The 22.32 is his second best time ever and his most impressive. Traina did not get out very well and only managed to place sixth overall with a 22.19.
Anderson, hoping to improve on his 1:52.84 run at the IC4A Championship, was planning on going out in 55 for the first quarter and continue to push the pace. The plan could not have gone any better for the first 600 meters. Anderson went out in 55 even at the 400 having just taken the lead. The third 200 was perhaps a little fast, running 27 flat to come through 600 in 1:22. Anderson did not have it on this particular day and faded down the homestretch. He did finish in 1:54.77, and now he has to hope that his 1:52 will get him into the national championship.
Orji was the last to compete, coming back in the shot put. With no serious threats, Orji had to depend on his own motivation to see if he could improve on last week's 57-3 put. Orji started with a 54 foot put and came back with a 55-3 1/2 on his second throw. His form was great up to the power position but flat in the delivery. He is currently ranked sixth in the shot put and seventh in the hammer throw.
The Engineers will find out Monday night who gets in to the NCAA Championship and who does not. Those who are in will fly to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa on Tuesday to compete Thursday through Saturday.