September 4, 1999
On a day more suited for sitting in the shade, and sipping lemonade, the MIT Alumni showed up at Franklin Park to take on the Varsity in a 5 mile race under 85 degree temperatures and very humid conditions.
Dan Feldman '02, took the lead at the start and never looked back. Ethan Crain '95, Terry McNatt '87, Arnold Seto '96, Jim Garcia '80, and Josh Feldman '96 ran together for the first mile (5:02), separating themselves from the Varsity's second pack, and trying to decide whether or not to go after Feldman.
Going into the 3rd mile, the Varsity front runners were supposed to have closed the gap on the Alumni lead pack, but instead the gap doubled to over 10 seconds, and the Varsity runners were beginning to spread out. Meanwhile, Crain, McNatt, and Seto had formed a very tight pack, working together to stay in front of the MIT second group, but making the decision that catching Feldman was not to happen on this day. Garcia had begun to fall back a bit, but was still in 5th. Josh Feldman had also been falling off pace a bit and had been caught by a couple Varsity members.
At the four mile mark, Dan Feldman had opened up over a 20 second gap. However, also expanding their lead were the Alumni trio of Crain, McNatt, and Seto. Ed Keehr 01, was making an effort to close the gap, but could get no closer than 10 seconds. Liyan Guo '01, was moving up to Garcia, and Phil Loiselle 01, Chris McGuire '00, and Frank Johnston '00 were moving up to and past Josh Feldman, but it did not look like it would be enough with the Alumni getting 2-3-4.
The Varsity made a valiant effort over the last 2 miles of the race, but the Alumni did not fold. Overall, the Varsity showed that they are ahead of last year in some respects, particularly pace setting. Regardless, the delta of 1:46 from 1-5 is not going to net a lot of victories. Runners 2-9 are going to have to step it up if the Engineers are to return home next week from Saratoga, New York with the Engineers Cup in hand.
Others competing for the Alumni were: Stephen Peckiconis, Mike Piepergerdes '93, Rich Rosalez '98, Jon Tong '97, and Chuck Van Buren '98,