NESCAC finish: 2nd (men), 3rd (women)
Men's captains: Ola Fadairo ’15, Fritz Parker ’15, Chris Veasey ’15, Kevin Wood ’15.
Women's captains: Sarah Guth ’15, Alison Maxwell ’15, Emma Mcguirk ’15
With the imminent completion of the new field house, 2015 promises to be the most memorable year in recent history for the men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams. As there is no NESCAC champion crowned for the indoor season, the teams use the winter months as preparation for the spring season.
The women will be led by their returning All-American distance medley relay team of Alison Maxwell ’15, Jackie Kearney ’16, Alex Morris ’16 and Erzsie Nagy ’17. The relay team finished seventh in the NCAA meet last year and Morris also competed as an individual in the 400m dash. Other strong performers will be Summer Spillane ’15, who garnered All-American honors in cross country this year, in the distance races and Hannah Blackburn ’17 in the long jump and pentathalon.
The men will be highlighted by returning NCAA championship qualifiers Fritz Parker ’15 and Alex Nichols ’17 in the 4x400m relay and Wilder Schaaf ’14.5 in the mile. Kevin Wood ’15 is fresh off a successful cross country season in which he too finished as an All-American and will look for success in the 3000m and 5000m races. Josh Claxton ’18 stands to make an impact as a first-year in the 400m.
The teams will open their seasons on Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Dartmouth Relays. The new field house is set to host its first meet Friday, Jan. 23 — the first indoor meet to be contested at Middlebury in well over a decade. With a focus more on individual performances rather than team competition, the Panthers will try to qualify as many athletes as possible for post-season regional meets as well as the NCAA championships to set themselves up for strong showings outdoors.
