Becker and Manzer Lead the Way for Track at NESCACs

Author: Erich Kahner

It seems Mother Nature has a grudge against New England sports. Last Saturday, the Middlebury men and women's track and field teams traveled south to Williams to take part in the water-logged New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Heavy rains forced most of the field events indoors, while all of the track events had to fight the weather outdoors on the Planksy Track. Last year at Bates frigid temperatures and freezing rain plagued the championship meet.
"The kids performed well, considering the weather," said Head Coach Martin Beatty.
Jess Manzer '05, a reigning All-American in the 1,500-meter run, was the top performer on the day for the women. Undaunted by the inclement weather, Manzer legged out a victory in the 1,500 and set a personal best in the process. She also bettered her chances for Nationals by lowering her provisional qualifying time to a 4:38.63. She took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.63 and ran a leg of the second place 3,200-meter relay team. Teammates on the relay were Maryanne Porter '04, Allie Williams '05 and Captain Adri Logalbo '03.
Kristoph Becker '06 had a big day for the men's team. Becker, who is already set to compete in the javelin throw at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 23-25, took over recent Middlebury graduate Bryan Black's '02 crown of NESCAC champ in the javelin. Becker threw the javelin 184'07", out-distancing second place teammate Steve Atkinson '06 by just over nine feet. Becker displayed his versatility with a second place height of 6'3.25" in the high jump.
"We expected Becker to win the javelin, but we didn't expect him to do so well in the high jump," added Beatty. "It was a pleasant surprise."
Also having good days for the men and women were Porter and Liam Aiello '05. Along with her contribution to the 3,200-meter relay, Porter won the 400-meter low hurdles with a time of 1:03.6. She scored points for the team in the 400-meter dash as well, placing fifth in a time of 1:00.71. Aiello had two top-three finishes. He ran a time of 11.10 seconds in the 100-meter dash final, good enough for second place. Aiello rounded out his day in the 200-meter dash with a third place time of 22.69 seconds.
Another top finisher for the women was senior Captain Michela Adrian. Adrian finished second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:59.11.
Middlebury had a handful of other athletes score for the team by finishing in the top eight. On the women's side, Kirsten Nagel '06 ran a 13.62 second 100-meter dash, good enough for seventh place. Williams, who had a hand in the second-place 3,200-meter relay, also contributed with a sixth place, 1:06.9 effort in the 400-meter low hurdles. Sara Smith '04 and Sarah Berkowitz '05 placed fifth and seventh respectively in the pole vault. They both vaulted 9'6.25", but Smith was awarded fifth because she had fewer fouls at lower heights. Jess Kosciewicz '04 placed eighth in the long jump with a distance of 15'7.5". Whitney Creed '06 placed seventh in the shot put with a distance of 37'9.5", and Renee Courchesne '05 threw the discus 119'1" to place fourth.
The men had a good showing as well. Kevin Bright '06 managed to score in three events. He placed fourth in the 400-meter low hurdles, sixth in the 400-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash. For those events, Bright ran 55.37 seconds, 49.73 seconds and 23.03 seconds respectively. Jeff King '05.5 placed seventh in both the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 400-meter low hurdles. King ran a 10:14.00 in the steeple and a 57.78 in the 400. Team Captain Mike Mazzotta '03 placed fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:12.37.
The women's team finished fourth with a total of 70.5 points, and the men placed seventh with 64 points.
"Considering what we had, I think we did well," said Beatty. Beatty cited a few last-minute scratches that robbed the teams of some sure points. For the women, Marisa Cawley '05 had to pull out of the steeplechase and the 5,000, while the men lost three of its top runners. The team trainer felt first-year sprinter Greg Lazerus' hamstring was too tight for competition and Nick Digani '05, a probable scorer in the middle distances, was also sidelined by a hamstring injury. One final missing link was Captain Mike DeLeo '03.5. Beatty believes if the men's team was whole, they may have moved up to fifth, or even fourth place.