Priming Newcomers, Track Readies for Stretch Run

Author: Erich Kahner

As the dreary winter months came to an end this weekend, the clouds parted allowing sun to shine down on Middlebury and spring to finally commence. Along with the trees and flowers, the Middlebury track team began to blossom last Saturday at the Williams Relays with many breakout performances.

The day started with junior Mike Mazzota's stellar performance in the men's 10,000-meter race. Mazzota placed third in his debut at this distance.

"I was nervous going into it, considering I've never ran it before," Mazzota commented on his race. The 10,000 is just one of many breakthrough performances for Mazzota this season, a trend that extends to the entire team.

Moriah Cooperson '02 knocked considerable time off her 1,500- meter best en route to third place with a time of 4:49. Captain Joe Lewis '02 appeared primed to improve on his third place showing in NESCACs last year in covering 800 meters in 1:57.4 and placing fifth in a high-octane field. Newcomer to the 3,000 meter steeplechase Jeff King '05 continued to impress by garnering third with a 10:29.

Mazzota, along with the other athletes, attributed the team's strength to the coaches. "The coaches have helped our training a lot," Mazzota explains. "Most of us feel more confident going into competition than we did last year."

The field events also profited from the fruits of their training. Captain Bryan Black '02 easily outdistanced the second place performer in the javelin by nearly 40 feet with a throw of 205'11". Yuri Lawrence '02 sprung to a first place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 44'8".

The women's throwing team yielded a host of fourth place finishes. Andrea Hersh '02 came in fourth in the women's javelin with a toss of 110'9". Jenny March '04 duplicated her feat in the hammer by letting loose a throw of 145'7" and placing fourth. Renee Courchesne '05 made it a three woman affair with a fourth place heave of 122'5" in the discus.

Senior hurdlers Heidi Rothrock and Andy Boyer won their respective events, while the women's 4x400 meter relay proved victorious. The lone field event relay to provide Middlebury with a win came from the team of Nicole LeBeouf '02, Jess Kosciewicz '04 and Gillian Wood '04 in the women's long jump.

The season really begins to heat up this Saturday when Middlebury plays host at Dragone Field. Saturday's meet acts as an important tune up as the postseason gets underway next weekend with the NESCAC championships.