MIT PREPARES FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH END OF SEASON PERSONAL BESTS
May 15, 2005
Due to the conflict with having two prestigious championships on the same weekend, MIT split their squad between the All New England Championship (NEICAAA) hosted by the University of New Hampshire and the IC4A Championship held at Princeton University. The Engineers left home some qualifiers who could have scored so they could focus on their exams that start on Monday, taking only those who were preparing for, or hoping to qualify for, the NCAA Championship.
At UNH, only David Blau and David Saylor made the trip and both made the most of their opportunity. David Blau ran two personal bests in the 100 and 200 meter sprints. In the 100, Blau ran 11.00 to move to fifth on the all time MIT list. With a short rest, Blau came back in the 200, running 22.16, dropping over three tenths of a second off his personal best.
David Saylor did not throw a personal best in the hammer throw, but he only missed doing so by six inches. What he did do was finish fourth to score five points for MIT.
Down at Princeton, Ben Schmeckpeper got things rolling with a 5000 personal best and national qualifying time of 14:37.58. The time moved Ben to number six on the all-time MIT list. Ben ran a smart race, pacing it well through two miles. The first mile was 4:37 and the second mile 4:41 as things began to string out in the back of the pack. At the end of the second mile Schmeckpeper slowed to 72-73 for four laps before picking it up to a 71 on the next quarter and finishing with a 31 final 200. He obviously finished with too much left but in that third mile he did not feel he could go any faster. Nevertheless, the time puts him at number 12 among the NCAA Division III qualifiers.
Brian Anderson was next to test his skills against the best Division I 800 runners on the east coast. Anderson, sick with a head cold, went out in the middle of the pack and looked good until he got spiked on the front of the leg at the end of the first 200. A lot of jostling for position caused Anderson to alter his stride a few times in the first quarter, which was 54.0 for the MIT graduate student. At the 600 mark Anderson second guessed himself and missed an opportunity to move up in the pack. Anderson faded in the homestretch but still managed an outdoor track personal best and national qualifying mark of 1:52.84. The performance moved Anderson to number four on the MIT 800 list and number 10 among the NCAA Division III qualifiers.
Zach Traina took his turn on the track in the 200 meter dash. Getting the inside lane, Traina got out well and ran a solid race but was unable to improve on his 21.53 mark as he finished in 22.10.
Uzoma Orji, entered in both the hammer and shot put, started with the hammer throw. Orji looked good in warmups, landing a couple in the 185 foot area. However, in the competition he was unable to achieve the same distance as he struggled with being aggressive and achieving fast turns. Orji managed a good series but his farthest throw was only 178-6, not good enough to make finals.
In the shot put, Orji had his best performance of the season and best series of the year. All six throws were between 55-2 1/4 and 57-3. His performance earned him a fourth place finish and owner of all five points for MIT.
Next week, on Thursday and Friday, MIT heads back to Springfield College for the ECAC Division III Championship. This meet is in essence a last chance qualifier rather than a championship for MIT. Only those with a chance at the NCAA Division III Championships will be making the trip, which are being held at the same time as final exams for MIT.