San Diego Gives Track Stars Chance to Shine

Author: Erich Kahner

During Spring Break, the Middlebury men's and women's track teams benefited from nine days of sunning and running in the tame climate of San Diego, Calif.

The team left frigid snowbound Middlebury with all its barren vegetation and adapted quickly to the sight of swaying palms and the concept of one layer of clothing. At 6:30 the next morning, a mere seven hours after arriving at their hotel, the team was up again and headed to the first of two track meets that they would participate in during the vacation.

The Panthers overcame the jetlag and a week of midterms to put forth some quality performances at the San Diego State Classic track and field meet on March 23. Senior and captain Bryan Black was among the highlights. Black hurled the javelin a personal best 213'06" to take third in field riddled with Division I athletes. His throw, the best in the nation for a Division III athelete this year, automatically qualifies him for the national championships in June.

Others joined Black in posting strong performances. Michela Adrian '03 finished third in her event by racing to a 17:34.2 in the women's 5000-meter run. Seniors Nick Jocelyn and Mariah Cooperson both had career days in the 800-meter dash, running 2:04.99 and 2:23.42 respectively. Yuri Lawrence '02 leaped to third in the triple jump with a distance of 43'10".

Head coach Martin Beatty put the team's achievements in perspective. "Coming off of midterms and the flight," Beatty explained, "The quality of work we did was amazing."

The team competed in its second meet the following Saturday at Point Loma University. Despite a week of rigorous training, the team showed few signs of slowing down. Jess Manzer '05 stole the show in the women's 1500-meter run, blazing to a 4:44.07 and qualifying provisionally for nationals. Manzer placed second and nearly ran down Jen Campbell of rival Williams College.

Craig Parker '04 unleashed a throw 134'7" in the discus, outdistancing his previous career mark by an astounding 20 feet. Lawrence is closing in on the school record in the men's triple jump. His leap of 45'4.5" was good enough for second place and came within 3.5" of Kip Sutton's record set back in 1994. Sarah Percy '02, Meredith Bazirgan '02 and Renee Courchesne '05 also set new personal bests in their respective events.

Distance coach Nicole Wilkerson was pleased and a little surprised by some of the performances. "We're about two weeks ahead of where we [the coaches] planned," offered Wilkerson. "People established some nice times and distances."

The coaching staff now faces the not all too unpleasant task of heightening their goals for the season. It is a dilemma, one can be sure, that all coaches would not mind facing.

The team did not spend its whole time racing. Sandwiched in between the two meets was a week of tough training and activities that forged a stronger bond among the athletes. Distance runners and sprinters shared a jaunt through scenic Torey Pines. Newcomers to the California experience underwent a few revealing nights of introductions and skits to better acquaint them to the other coaches and athletes. When the team stepped off the plane Sunday, it did so feeling that it was just that: a team. The Panthers roll on with their momentum when they host the Middlebury Invitational this Friday.