MIT Men's Track Team sent three runners to this year's NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships; two 3000 Meter Steeplechasers (Mike Parkins '99 and Leif Seed '99), and one 5000 Meter runner (Chris McGuire '00). Leif and Mike were seeded 7th and 8th respectively while Chris was seeded 7th in the 5K.

For each of the Tech runners it was their first time qualifying for Nationals. On Wednesday, the trials for the Steeplechase were held. Parkins was in the first heat and quickly moved his way to the lead pack as they went out very fast in 66 seconds for the first quarter. Knowing the qualifying procedure was to take the first four finishers in each of the two heats and the next four fastest times to Friday's final, Mike was content to let the others do the work. The fast pace quickly separated the field and left Mike and one other runner out by themselves. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful as the pace slowed and Mike finished in second with a 9:17 performance.

Leif had been injured with a tendonitis for over three weeks and had only done pool work and two light workouts in that time. He raced two weeks earlier in the New England Division III Championships and faded badly after the mile mark. Still in good shape, but lacking the confidence without doing the track work, Leif nevertheless attempted to qualify. Mike's heat had been so slow that all Leif needed to do was run 9:26 and place no worse than 7th out of a possible 9 and he would be in the finals.

The race began at a good but comfortable pace for Leif as he settled in behind the leaders. After three laps the group split and Leif along with three others were in front. This continued through five laps with Leif coming through the mile in 4:50. However, with 800 meters to go, Leif could not deal with the pain from the injury or his confidence and faded badly. He finished the race, which was no small feat, and needed assistance walking for the remaining two days of the Championship. He did not qualify for the final and even if he had would not have been able to run it.

The next day was the Freshman 5000 Meter Record Holder's turn. Chris was seeded to run the first heat of two. Six of the 18 entrants for the 5K had run the 10K the night before. Three of those, including the winner, was in Chris's heat. The winner from Mount Union College took the lead and kept the pace incredibly slow (5:06 for the first mile). No one seemed interested in passing him and Chris was comfortable where he was and confident in his kick.

Then trouble came. Chris has had the unfortunate bad habits of running right on the rail and not moving up in races soon enough. Remembering to stay out during the first mile, Chris then lost focus and found himself boxed-in on the rail and getting beat on quite a bit by his competitors. For nearly a mile and a half Chris tried to get out but only received more pushing and shoving as a result. The pace quickened to a 4:50 second mile, which was still slow, and then with 800 meters to go, the leaders jumped the pace to about 66 seconds. Chris tried to go, but feeling the beating he had taken and the energy depleted from trying to get out of the box he was in, could not respond. He finished in 7th with a 15:20 time, but that was not going to be good enough to get him in to the finals. The second heat went out much faster and qualified all but two of their heat.

In the finals of the Steeplechase on Friday, Mike was hoping for a fast start to separate the pack. Coach Taylor knew that the two times Mike had difficulty finishing strong in races had been when the pace went out hard, and knew it would be a risk for Mike. At the same time, Mike was ready for a breakthrough race and going out hard was the only way to make that happen.

The pace did go out hard and as predicted the pack separated immediately. There were four runners in the lead pack and Mike was one of them. The gap between the first and second pack grew to about 30 meters with 1000 meters to go. Mike came through the 2000 mark two seconds faster than he had in the trials (6:04) and looked good. At 2400 meters, Mike came through in 7:20, which was three seconds faster than his trials run, but had the "survival look" on his face, and the pursuit group was beginning to move. Mike then fatigued badly with a 79 second lap and faded to 6th by the 2800 mark. With 200 meters to go Mike could not muster a kick as three more passed him with 50 meters to go. He finished in ninth, one place out of All-America.

Although the performances were not what the team hoped for, the experience of being at Nationals and knowing what to expect next time was invaluable. With such a young group of distance runners the future looks bright for the Engineers.