<< Front page Sports February 20, 2004

Men’s and women’s track teams take on several

Last Friday the Oberlin indoor track teams faced off against several local schools in a home invitational in Phillips Gym.

The teams in the tournament were Thiel, Case Western, West Liberty, Notre Dame, Wooster and Cuyahoga Community College, as well as Oberlin.

First-year Danielle Brook took second place in the 55m dash with a time of 7.81, finishing just behind a Notre Dame runner who came in first with 7.35. In the 400m dash, junior Magdalen Dale had a time of 1:05.88 to place third.

In 2:33.74, sophomore Tamara White claimed first place. White said she has been thoroughly impressed by the expertise of the coaching staff and the dedication of the athletes.

“I’ve never before run in such a positive environment, centered around the personal goals of each individual athlete.” This was her first college win with indoor track.

“Complicated by injuries and mental obstacles, the transition into the season has been tough for me, after three years of not running competitively,” she said.

“I started racing when I was ten and burned out by the time I was a sophomore in high school, swearing that I would never step foot on a track again. But here I am, wooed by the ever-persuasive Coach Hudson and my own competitive drive, running mid-distance once again.”

Also placing in the top 15 for the 800m dash were sophomores Katherine MacDonald and Sarah Newman and first-year Betsy Verhoven.

Senior Faye Doherty and Dale held spots in the top four in high jump. Doherty had 1.48m for third place while Dale reached 1.43m for fourth. They held the same positions for the triple jump, scoring 9.34m and 9.33m respectively.

Dale also placed third in the long jump with 4.52m and she was followed by Amanda Dematto in fourth with 4.34m.

In women’s shot put, Doherty threw for 8.12m and competed in the 55m hurdles, finishing with 10.74.

On the men’s side, senior Will Miller, first-years Quentin Jones and Micah Petersen and sophomore Mike Roth. All placed in the top 20 for the 55m dash.

Roth also participated in the 4x200m relay for Oberlin’s ‘B’ team, which ran a time of 1:47, while the ‘A’ team took fourth with a time of 1:37.80. And the 4x400m relay came in fourth with 3:44.00.

“We haven’t done a lot of timed runs, but my times have gone down, and mostly my technique has gotten better like what angle your head should be at when you sprint, coming out of the blocks,” Roth said. With this as his first season with Oberlin indoor track, he feels the team has a positive vibe and the coaches are willing to focus on the athletes’ health to enhance the teams’ welfare and performance.

Taking fifth, Miller scored a 24.39 in the 200m dash. Senior Brad Coryell grabbed second place in the 800m run with 2:08.33.

With 9:44.33, John Shaw also placed second. Vaulting 3.95m, sophomore Shean Perry added another fourth place to the Yeomen’s standings.

In the shot put, Anthony Hudgins threw 12.86m for fifth, while first-year John Hepp followed close behind in seventh with 12.34m. First-year Jamal Dunston describes it as “throwing a 16 pound baby.”

On Saturday, some members of the team were invited to the Division III All Ohio Meet at Ohio Northern University. The women’s team finished 10 out of 17 with an overall score of 21 points, whereas the men’s team did not place.

Second and third place in the triple jump were taken by Houlihan and Collins, jumping 10.49m and 10.38m respectively.

Collins came in third for the heat section of the women’s 400m dash with 1:00.10, and senior Rebecca Jones ran the 55m dash in 8.35 for fifth place in the third heat.
Fellow junior, Leslie Bosworth, reached 1.49m in the high jump for eighth place, and ran 8.99 for fourth in the 55m hurdles.

Finishing in sixth place in the 800m run was sophomore Carmen Welton for a run of 2:29.72.

First-year Edo Bedzra came in fourth during the second heat for the men’s 55m dash, running in 6.79, while first-year Quentin Jones ran 8.98 for fifth in the second heat for the 55m hurdles.

For the 400m dash in the men’s category, junior Bret Peteresen also came in fifth during the second section with 52.89. First-year Matt Ferris-Smith took fifth in the first section of the men’s 800m run in 2:01.80.


 
 
   

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