Indoor Track Team Sprints to Finish, Relay Team Qualifies for NCAAs

Author: Erich Kahner

The Middlebury men and women's track and field teams competed at the New England Division III and the New England Open Championships over the past two weekends. At the Division III championships, held on Feb. 21-22, the Panthers produced nine all-New England performers. In the process, three school records fell, and the women's Distance Medley Relay (DMR) guaranteed their spot at the national championships on March 14 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
The DMR, comprised of Jess Manzer '05, Maryanne Porter '04, Adri Logalbo '03 and Michela Adrian '03, surpassed the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III championships (12:08), set a new school record (12:01.32) and a Mt. Ararat Fieldhouse record en route to a victory. They shaved 12 seconds off of their previous season best, and beat the second-place host, Bowdoin, by 30 meters. The foursome earned all-New England titles for their effort.
With their trip to Nationals now insured, the athletes feel free from the pressure of qualifying, "It's such a good feeling to know that in three weeks we will be competing in Nationals," said Logalbo. "We have a lot more left in us, and I think we all know what the next goal is: to leave it all in Indiana."
Many individual performances earned athletes All-New England honors. Manzer and Logalbo had top eight finishes, meeting the criteria for All-New England credit by placing third (2:18.48) and seventh (2:20.11) in the 800-meter dash. Porter placed second in the 600 meter dash (1:39.79). Adrian had a sixth place finish in the 1,500 (4:44.39) and Jess Kosciewicz '04 was eighth in the 55 meter dash (7.77 seconds).
All these athletes combined for 30 points and a 12th place team finish. Williams won the team title with a tally of 174.5.
The men also had success during their meet at the Massachusettes Institute of Techonology. The sprint squad produced three All-New England athletes. Captain Mike DeLeo '03.5 set a new personal record and placed seventh in the 55-meter dash (6.70). Liam Aiello '05 also bested his old personal record with a seventh place run in the 200-meter (23.51), and Kevin Bright '06 made the All-New England team in his first season by finishing 5th in the 400 meter (50.98).
Other performances of note were the two record-breaking performances in the men's distance events. Nick Digani '05 lowered his own indoor school record -- set last week at Tufts -- by over a second in the 1500 meter. Digani ran a 4:07.16, which translates roughly into a 4:26 mile.
The 4x800 meter relay, made up of Marty Wesolowski '03, Mike Mazzota '03, Matt Horesta '06 and Digani, knocked 5 seconds off of the old indoor record with their time of 8:18.5.
Last weekend the teams faced stronger competition at the Open New England Championships. No athletes placed in the top eight, but there were still outstanding performances.
Bright broke the 50 second barrier in the 400- meter dash, lowering his own school record to 49.94. He placed 13th and bested many seasoned Division I and II athletes, as well as his Division III counterparts.
"We're really excited about Kevin breaking the big 50," remarked head coach Martin Beatty about Bright's race.
Manzer and Logalbo continued to lower their 800 meter marks by running 2:17.75 and 2:18.68 respectively. Manzer finished one spot out of All-New England honors with her ninth place effort, while Logalbo captured 13th.
The women's 4x200 meter relay team, made up of Jess Kosciewicz '04, Shena James '06, Kirsten Nagel '06 and Sarah Berkowitz '05, set a new school record with a time of 1:52.73. The teams travel to Tufts next weekend for the Eastern Coast Athletic Championships. This meet offers the final opportunity for athletes to qualify for Nationals. Manzer and Logalbo are extremely close. They need to chop off a second or two from their season bests to surpass the provisional mark of 2:16.2.