Franklin Park - October 13, 2000

It was an unseasonably hot day, and the forces were a bit depleted, but expectations of setting a positive trend for the remainder of the championship season were high. In a race filled with mixed results for the MIT troops, Tech finished 18th out of 42 New England Colleges representing all Divisions sponsored by the NCAA, and 5th out of the Division III Institutions.

Dan Feldman led the way as usual with a solid 17th place performance. Uncharacteristically, Dan ran a conservative first two miles, but probably stressed too much about where he wanted to eventually finish, thus using up all his energy before the finish despite the paced effort. Dan moved from 45th at the mile to 29 at the 2 mile to 19th at the 3 mile. It was a great plan, but there wasn't much left in the tank to finish the job.

Sean Nolan also ran a conservative race, and for the first time this season, was by himself as Ed Keehr was out resting a tight hamstring. Sean ran a strong race, also moving up throughout the length of the race. When Keehr comes back, they should make a very formidable pair.

Albert Liu was the third Tech runner through the finish, and did so in 109th place. Albert's time of 26:30 was his best ever. Albert's confidence is growing incrementally, and should be right where he and his team wants it in four weeks.

Liyan Guo made his first race back from a thigh injury a successful one as he ran 26:45 to finish in 128th place. While the time is nearly a minute slower than his best time ever, it is better than he was running prior to taking some time off. Liyan has been there before and knows how to get the job done.

In Ed Keehr's absence, Craig Wildman, Sean Montgomery, and Brian Anderson were out to step up and get the job done. Although Craig ran a personal best by 1 second, it was not enough as the delta for runners 1-5 fell to 2:04. Sean "has fallen and cannot get up" as he tries to find his way back to the form that had him finish 65th at last year's nationals. Brian is just learning how to race cross country with the same success that he is accustomed to in track. His best time this year at Franklin Park is 27:20, showing promise for the future.

Next week, the team will travel back to Franklin Park for the Mayor's Cup, which will be held on Sunday.