Women lead track team to first place finish

Author: Alyssa O'Gallagher

While the rest of campus was either curled up in their beds watching a movie or throwing on their Hunter rain boots and Patagonia rain coats to make the trek to the dining hall, the men's and women's track and field teams spent their rainy Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Mass. at the Springfield Invitational. After a week of training in sunny San Diego, the weather for their first meet back in New England was anything but ideal.

Connor Wood '11 said that "the story of the meet was the conditions," describing it as "a frustrating day." Competitors found that the wind, rain and cold really were not conducive to good performance.

The men's team ultimately placed third with 101 points, behind Williams with 165 points and home team Springfield College - who won with an impressive 227 points - but ahead of competitors Amherst and Stevens Institute.

The story of the day for the men's team ended up being a series of third, fourth and fifth place finishes that just were not enough to give Middlebury the upper hand.

Only Alex Meyerson '12 and Donny Dickson '11 ended the day with first-place finishes for Middlebury - in the men's discus throw and 3000-meter steeplechase, respectively - while winner Springfield College had nine athletes come out on top in their respective events.

Middlebury did come out with several third-place finishes, including Connor Wood '11 in the 800, Nick Plugis '11 in the javelin throw, Jason Mooty '12 in the 400 hurdles and Addison Godine '11 in the 1500 run. Silas Wong '12 and Thomas Mayell '11 took second and third in the men's triple jump, and both men's relays met with similar success with the 4x100 relay taking second and the 4 x 400 relay finishing third.

In the end, though, it was only enough to secure the Panthers a respectable third-place finish overall in the team standings.

The scoring of track and field meets, in awarding points to the top six finishers in each event, rewards not only sheer talent but also depth.

To successfully win a track meet, a team certainly needs its fair share of first-place finishers, but every contribution counts. In a very close race - as it ended up being on the women's side - it could ultimately be the runner who reaches the line for sixth place that catapults the team to victory.

On the women's side, Middlebury took first, besting home team Springfield by a slim one-point margin, scoring 176 to their 175.

The victory should be celebrated as a real team effort, with one-two-three finishes in both the 100 and 400 hurdles and one-two finishes in the 800, 1500 and 4x400 relay.

Senior captain Kelley Coughlan '09 certainly made a contribution to the team across the board, finishing second in the 100 hurdles and triple jump, and tying for second in the long jump with fellow Panther Lizzie Faust '11. Her final jump of 11.41m in the triple jump not only demolished her own school record and qualified her for the NCAAs, but also tied her with the first place Springfield finisher who won the event off a technicality, having the better second jump.

Annie Rowell '11 also contributed with her own pair of second place finishes in the 100 and 200 dashes. Emer Feighery '09 added to the women's collection of first place finishes with a jump of 3.12m in the pole vault.

As the team looks forward to its first home meet of the outdoor season this weekend, the men are hoping to improve their team ranking while the women look to defend their first place position. And better weather would not hurt.