Breeze Offers Breath of Fresh Air to Track and Field Team

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The Middlebury track and field teams traveled to Williamstown, Mass., to compete in the Williams Relays last Saturday on April 12. The previous weekend's heavy snowfalls led to the cancellation of the Panthers' home meet on April 5, but aside from a stiff breeze, the weather proved no problem at Williams.
The meet began well for the Panthers with Tom Icard's '06 victory in the 10,000-meter run. Icard's time of 34:20.3 moved him into fifth place all-time for Middlebury in that event. Simon Isaacs '03 knocked a minute off last year's Williams Relays effort in the 10,000 by clocking a 35:26.5 and capturing third place.
"Tom really ran great for a first-year," said Head Coach Martin Beatty. "Simon also chipped in with a nice improvement over his time last year."
Kristoph Becker '06 and Kevin Bright '06 joined Icard in the first-year assault. Becker won the javelin with a toss of 179'1" feet and took second place in the high jump with a leap of 6'2". Bright continued his stellar track campaign with a victory in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.95 seconds and a second place performance in the triple jump (41'4.5").
Sprinters Liam Aiello '05, Mike DeLeo '03.5 and Greg Lazerus '06 took first, second and third in the 100-meter dash, with times of 11.30, 11.38 and 11.39, respectively. Nick Digani '05 turned in a split of 1:59 for the 800-meter relay leg of the sprint medley (200-200-400-800) and, along with the aid of teammates Jeff King '05.5, Matt Engler '06 and Matt Angoff '06, contributed to the medley's victory. The 4x100-meter relay team, composed of members Aiello, DeLeo, Lazarus and Tony Garofano '03, also took first. Lazerus completed a busy day with a second place showing in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.72 seconds.
Beatty was pleased with Saturday's performances. "We were fortunate to finally have good weather, and I think the athletes took advantage of the opportunity they got."
The women also exploited the spring thaw by turning in some strong performances. Jess Manzer '05 took second twice, and both times she had victory snatched away at the end by a hard closing, perennial All-American, Keene State's star senior Mary Proux. Manzer ran a 4:39.95 in the 1,500-meter and surpassed the provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III championships. She also ran the 800-meter dash in a time of 2:21.69.
Maryanne Porter '04 won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 65.72 seconds and Allie Williams '05 followed in second, finishing in 68.99 seconds. Kelsey Rinehart '06 paced out an 18:55.98 in the 5000-meter run-good enough for a second-place finish.
Jess Kosciewicz '04 leapt to second place in the long jump with a distance of 16'7" feet. The women's sprint medley of Williams, Porter, Kosciewicz and Melissa Thacker '05.5 took second place, as did Sheena James '06, Kirsten Nagel '06, Stephanie Salek '06 and Kosciewicz with their time of 51.64 seconds in the 4x100 meter relay.
Beatty views these last few weeks before the NESCAC championships on April 26 as an opportunity to prepare for that meet: "The coaches want to see the athletes keep developing and getting faster for the conference meet."
The Panthers had, as Beatty called it, a "tune-up" meet Tuesday, April 15, at the Dragone Track atMiddlebury.
The athletes will have their last opportunity to qualify for the conference championships this coming Saturday as they host the Middlebury Invitational, also held at the Dragone Track.