Despite Cloudy Skies, Track Shines at NESCACs

Author: Erich Kahner

Last weekend the Middlebury track teams made the trek north to compete in the NESCAC Championships, held at Bates College in Maine. The first day of competition saw the athletes ride a strong tailwind toward fast times, and spirits were high when the heptathletes capped off Saturday's events with a final heat of the 200- meter dash. As everyone streamed out of the complex, over the loudspeaker the announcer warned the crowd to prepare for "inclement weather" on Sunday. The so-called "inclement weather" turned out to be the understatement of the year, and the track teams left Bates with bodies hindered by the pains of northern overexposure. Yet despite the sheets of freezing rain that chilled the competitors to the bone, inspiration cut deeper as the Panthers fired everyone's spirit with the gritty performances the Middlebury track team has become accustomed to.

"All during the meet, we coaches talked about how everyone really rose to the occasion and cranked out some terrific performances," exclaimed head coach Martin Beatty. "The athletes made a raw snowy day seem as if the sun were shining."

The example of the take-no-prisoners mentality that embodied the track team this weekend is someone who has been producing gutsy performances all year: middle distance runner Adrianna Logalbo '03. Logalbo highlighted her dozen point effort with her second place, and national qualifying, finish in the 800-meter run.

Her time of 2:15.25 broke her previous season best by nearly five seconds. She also ran on the women's high-ranking 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays. All this came amidst the dropping temperatures and tamely coined "inclement weather."

Others followed suit and put in tough performances of their own. Margery Glover '04 shaved 52 seconds off her personal best to place fourth in the 5000-meter run. Jess Kosciewicz '04 scored in two individual events while running a leg on the women's successful 4x100 meter relay. Renee Courchesne '05 placed fourth in the discus by besting her own school record with a throw of 132'01". Sara Smith '04 set a season best in the pole vault with a height of 10' and garnered third in that event.

Captain and senior Meredith Bazirgan made her final NESCAC appearance a successful one when she added a fifth place finish to her scoring efforts as a member of the 4x400 and 4x800. Bazirgan blew away the competition in the second fastest heat of the 400 to beat several women in the "fast" heat.

The men were led by Mr. Automatic, their captain Bryan Black '02. Black became a back-to-back NESCAC champ in the javelin throw with a toss of 201'04". He also picked up some unexpected points in the shot-put, a new event for Black this year, with a throw worthy of a seventh place finish.

Liam Aiello '05 championed a stalwart performance by the men's sprinting unit. Aiello cruised to fourth in the men's 100-meter dash and ran a blazing leg on the third place 4x100 meter relay. Fellow sprinter Tony Garafano '04 put together a nice meet and placed sixth in the 100-meter dash while also helping out the 4x100.

Mike Mazzota '03 braved the icy waters of the 3000-meter steeplechase to place seventh and put himself on the bubble to compete in this weekend's NCAA Division III New England Championships.

Andrew Boyer '02, who grew up only a 15 minute drive away from Bates, ran a tough race on his home turf to capture second place in the 110 meter hurdles. Captain Joe Lewis '02 ended his NESCAC career with a tough performance in the 800-meter run en route to placing eighth.

The men's team placed seventh overall with a tally of 52 points, and the women finished in a tie for fifth with their total of 78 points. Yet the track team does not define success completely on how they scored at the NESCAC championships. The Middlebury track and field team built a sense of community this year that would rival any school in the nation. In this respect, they certainly had a championship season.