Track finals produce several OC all-NCAC athletes

Weather again conspires against outdoor track team

There wasn't a volcano. And there wasn't a microburst. But thunder and lightning plagued the men's and women's track teams at last weekend's North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship meet, held at Wittenberg University.

Members of both teams attributed disappointing eighth place finishes to a number of factors, including inclement weather.

"I think we were shocked a bit by the weather, though other teams faced the same stuff," said sophomore Amie Ely, who placed eighth in the long jump and seventh in the 100-meter dash.

Friday's time trials were cancelled and events were delayed on Saturday. "It takes a lot of you," sophomore Nicole James said. "Emotionally you're ready to go but the elements aren't permitting it." James took fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.54.

Despite a respectable finish, James herself was not pleased with her performance. "I'm not really pleased with anything but first or a good time. Neither happened," James said.

"I think from an overall standpoint we thought we might do a little better than we did," said Head Coach Tom Mulligan.

A few individuals had strong finishes.

Junior Harsha Thirumurthy was named the Most Oustanding Middle Distance/Distance Runner with wins in the 5000, with a time of 15:28.68, and the 10,000 with a time of 32:26.70. Both of Thirumurthy's victories came against an All-American he'd never defeated before.

Sophomore Gil Saenz finished first in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 56.53. Assistant Track Coach Thomas Smith said that Saenz's victory continues Oberlin's strong intermediate hurdler tradition. Since the NCAC was formed in 1984, four Oberlin students have won the intermediate hurdles. "No other school has been able to do that," Mulligan said.

Junior Trista Thornberry finished second in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:54.47. This was the same place she took at the indoor track championships earlier in the semester.

"Despite the fact that we thought the performances could have been better," Mulligan said, "it was still a strong season with really solid performances throughout. That doesn't go unnoticed."

In addition the women's 400-meter team finished sixth, the men's 400-meter relay team officially finished fifth (Smith and Mulligan said that the team actually finished fourth, a feat that went uncredited, they said, due to a faulty timing system), and senior Steve Jackson took eighth in the 200-meter.

Mulligan also praised senior Steve Kim, who became a strong competitor for the men this year.

Though the meet wasn't a favorite, members praised their teammates. "I felt people tried hard in spite of the conditions," James said. "I felt the team did the best it could despite Friday and Saturday."

Thornberry said team spirit helped everyone.

"I think our champions are champions because they worked extremely hard for a long time and were able to perform well when it counted," Mulligan said.

He also praised Ely, who has increased her long jump distance by more than a foot and shaved seconds off her sprint time.

Ely continues training for a heptathalon at Baldwin-Wallace College. She said she thinks the event will be a good learning experience for her. While most who compete in the event are hoping to qualify for nationals, Ely said that isn't a goal of hers - this year.

"Some events I hope to do really well in," Ely said. Other events, such as the high jump and hurdles, Ely has never done before very competitively and doesn't expect to finish so well in.

Mulligan said he wanted to thank the coaching staff for doing a great job with the athletes.

Get the point:Sophomore Amie Elie is a major asset to the track team. Besides throwing javelin she does long jump and runs sprints. She has shown major improvements in all events she participates in. (photo by Chandrika Rai)