Track Ahead of the Field With Emphatic Finish

Author: Erich Kahner

Throughout the long track season, which has stretched as far as November for some people, resilience has been the key for the Panther tracksters. The team has had to deal with many injuries, including an inimical epidemic of IT band inflammations. From Friday to Monday, nature bore down on the team, rearing her head in the form of a balmy summer day in the upper 80s, an earthquake, the menacing Aurora Borealis, a winter snowstorm and, in the middle of all the turmoil, a track meet. Despite all of these things, last Saturday, during a tune-up for the NESCAC Championships, the Middlebury men's and women's track teams could not be deterred.

The women saw their winning effort championed by the unit representative of the team's resilience: the sprinters. Jess Kosciewicz '04 led the charge with individual victories in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and she also ran legs on the winning 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. Gillian Wood '03 also turned in a strong performance, and between her and Kosciewicz the sprinters got a much needed boost.

"We've had a lot of injuries, and our sprinting squad has been reduced in numbers," teammate Allie Williams '05 remarked. "Jess and Gillian keep coming up big for us." Before the season even started, the women's sprinting core suffered serious blows with season-ending injuries to a couple key components to the team. It has been a huge boost to have these sprinters step up and fill the void.

Middlebury showed flashes of domination on Saturday by sweeping many of the top spots in several events. The men's and women's 800-meter run saw Middlebury competitors take the top four spots in each event, while Panthers in the women's hammer, 1500-meter run and 400-meter hurdles won first through third.

Sprinter Liam Aiello '05 had a career day, running to personal bests in the 100-meter dash and his victory in the 200-meter dash, holding off several opponents at the end of the 200 for a very strong win. Craig Parker '04 took the men's discus with a monstrous throw of 133'02". First-year and February admit Jeff King impressed the crowd, and himself, by out-kicking the field at the end of the race and winning the 400-meter hurdles in his first competition at that distance this year.

Also having breakout performances on Saturday were seniors Jennifer March and Bryan Black, who were both able to make some noise on the national scene with extraordinary performances. March, with her victorious throw of 148'08" in the women's hammer, qualified provisionally for the Division III National Championships set to take place from May 23-25 at Macalester College in Minnesota. Black, currently ranked first in the nation for the men's javelin, extended the gap between himself and the rest of the country by setting a personal best of 218'08" in that event.

"This is the best track team Middlebury has had in years," said former captain and All-American Ethan Barron '01, and the Panthers will work hard to put this statement to the test this weekend when they head to Bates College for the NESCAC Championships.