Track Shines in Final Meet Before NESCACs

Author: Erich Kahner

The Middlebury track and field teams ended the pre-championship season with two home meets last week at Dragone Field. The meets, one on Tuesday and the other on Saturday, brought light competition from surrounding colleges, leaving Middlebury athletes to compete mostly against each other in many events. The comfort brought by the accompanying Panther blue-and-white did little to dull Middlebury's competitive edge.
First-year Whitney Creed highlighted Tuesday's performers. She set personal records in the javelin, the hammer throw and the shot put. The latter record was also a school record, set with a victorious put of 38'4.75". Creed's fellow thrower Jenny March '04 qualified provisionally for the NCAA championships in the hammer with a throw 153'.
Kevin Bright '06 also had a great week. Bright busted out a 50.07 second 400-meter dash in his victory in that event on Tuesday. His time, according to Head Coach Martin Beatty, is likely to land him a first place seed at next weekend's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championships, held on Saturday at Williams. Taking into consideration Bright's already impressive track season, Beatty assigns Bright a heavy responsibility for next week's meet.
"Kevin is going to be a real workhorse for the team at NESCACs. He'll probably end up participating in six events."
Beatty did not hesitate to mention Maryanne Porter '04 as the female counterpart to Bright. Porter, who has already qualified for the NCAA championships in the 400-meter hurdles, won a few races at that distance last week in preparation for NESCACs. Like Bright, she will be competing in several events.
"The team really has two workhorses: Kevin and Porter," added Beatty. "We're going to lean on both of them pretty heavily this weekend."
Beatty is not exaggerating. The NESCAC championships, historically a two-day event, has been condensed into a one-day affair, forcing Bright and Porter to compete several times in only a few hours.
The return of some key athletes during the past week, along with some optimistic performances by others, should make for a less daunting load for Bright and Porter to carry. Women's captains Michela Adrian '03 and Adri Logalbo '03 made successful returns to the track last week.
On Tuesday, Logalbo, fresh off the mend of her broken foot, competed for the first time since the indoor season in the 800-meter run. She placed third with a time of 2:23.58, behind winner Jess Manzer '05 and runner-up Porter. Logalbo hopes to quickly recapture some of her trademark-earning NESCAC championship form from last year, where she placed second.
Adrian's comeback brought her close to a national provisional qualifying time. She began regular jogging last week after a couple of months of cross training, but her lack of substantial running or track work did not seem to hinder her. Adrian ran an 18:04 in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday, placing first and coming within nine seconds of the provisional mark for NCAAs.
"We're very glad to have our captains back," said Beatty. "They'll provide some sure points at NESCACs."
Nick Digani '05, after a breakthrough week, is poised to place well at NESCACs. Beatty thinks he may even have a shot at the 1,500-meter school record.
"With Nick having run a 4:03 on Saturday, he is only three seconds from the record. And, although three seconds in the 1,500 may be a lot, the high caliber of competition may carry him to a fast time."
Kristoph Becker '06 cemented a number one seed at NESCACs, and also a high seed at NCAAs, with his throw of 193'06" of the javelin on Saturday.
Beatty said that Liam Aiello '05 and Mike DeLeo '03.5, who are already performing great, may still have to step it up another notch due to the questionable status of Greg Lazarus '06. Lazarus pulled his hamstring coming out of the blocks of the 200-meter run on Saturday, but Beatty is optimistic about his recovery.