Indoor track performs well at Dartmouth Relays Malek '06 stars in 400m intercollegiate debut

Author: Zamir Ahmed

The Middlebury men's and women's indoor track teams traveled to Dartmouth College last weekend to compete at the 36th Annual Dartmouth Relays. The meet marked the start of the Panthers' season and gave the team the chance to compete against top colleges of all sizes from New England and Canada.

The men's team finished the competition in 24th place, their same finish as last year. The women's team finished the meet tied for 21th place. The Dartmouth women's team won the competition for the second straight year while UMass-Lowell men's squad set a meet-record for points scored and took the men's title.

The Panthers did not enter a full team at the competition, choosing instead to focus on using the meet to prepare for the spring outdoor track season. Despite the stiff competition the Panthers faced, there were many notable performances by athletes on the men's and women's squads.

On the men's side Kevin Bright '06, an All-American from last year, had an exceptional meet and set himself up for a great track season. Bright finished fifth in the long jump with a jump of just over 20 ft, and finished seventh in the 400m with a time of 51.35 seconds. Matt Malek '06 was another strong performer in the 400m, stopping the clock at 53.79 in the first race of his Middlebury track career.

Alex Wellman '07 scored two points for the men's team at the meet, finishing fifth in the 60m hurdles with a time 8.73 seconds. Erich Kahner '05, returning from spending the semester aboard, came back and ran a strong mile for the Panthers with a time of 4:38.79.

The men's relay teams also shined for the Panthers. The 4x200m relay team of Bright, Wellman, Liam Aiello '05, and Neiman Groce '07 finished in seventh place, while the 4x400m relay team just fell short of scoring, finishing in eighth.

The women's team also had many solid performances. Alli Williams '05 had her best start to a season ever with a time of 2:26.66 in the 800m. Alice Flanders '07 also had an impressive meet, finishing 10th in the 400m dash with a time of 63.06 seconds.

The women's 4x200m relay team was also a shining spot for the Panthers, earned two points with a fifth-place finish. The young team of Lizz Huntley '08, Erin Oliver '07, Jessie Evangelista '08, and Jackie Russell '08 completed the race in a time of 1:52.81. "It was a good performance by the team," said Middlebury coach Martin Beatty. "It's a promising start for the rest of the year."

Since the indoor track season does not have a team championship the main goal of the team is to qualify as many athletes as possible for the New England Championships held in February. Many athletes are using the indoor season to prepare themselves for the outdoor track season.

The Panthers will next travel to Wesleyan College this weekend to compete at the Wesleyan Invitational. There they will compete against a smaller field and against colleges closer to their size.