OC women triumph in regular season finale

Men and women's teams prepare for Championships

The Oberlin Track team finished up their last home stand of the season with a bang. The team won eight events and broke three more records.

The meet was held in Oberlin, where students from John Carroll University, Mt. Union College, Walsh College and Westminster College gathered to run their last races before the Conference meet today.

Junior David Ellis broke the first men's team record in the 300-meter open race. He finished ahead of his teammates junior Sean Wesolowski and first-year Zach Rudisin. "I think David Ellis has been waiting for this for a long time," Assistant Track Coach Thomas Smith said.

Sophomore Nicole James also won the 300-meter open for the women.

"I almost had it last year," Ellis said about his record. "It's fun."

Senior Trista Thornberry won the 1000-meter race, breaking both the varsity record and the field house record, making her time the fastest that had ever been run in the Heisman Field house.

Junior Steve Jackson and James took first place finishes in their 55-meter open races, and the men's 1600-meter relay team also came in first.

The women's team won three field events. College sophomore Chamia Peterson won the long jump and set a new Oberlin varsity record, jumping 16 feet, 8 3/4 inches, one foot ahead of her teammate first-year Elizabeth Chandler, who placed second.

In other field events, sophomore Kate O'Brien and junior Amie Ely placed first and second in the high jump. "Everybody did well," First-year Mary Towey said. "A lot of opponents didn't bring full teams so winning wasn't quite as satisfying." Towey won the shot put.

This inter-collegiate meet was preparation for the North Coast Athletic Conference meet this weekend. "This will probably be a faster meet [then past years]," Smith said.

"We got a lot better, but so did everybody else. I'm just hoping we want to win a little bit more."

Smith refused to make predictions about the season's last meet. "On paper, it looks like one thing, but it doesn't matter what credentials you have coming in, it's how you perform when you get to the line," Smith said.

Smith does expect several of Oberlin's runners to excel. He suggested that Oberlin Track fans keep an eye on Jackson in the 55-meter open, junior Dan Feldman and Ellis in the 300-meter open, Feldman again in the 400-meter open and double-degree fifth-year Alex Dawe in all the distance events.

Team members were also optimistic about conferences. "I don't see the opposition improving as much as we have. Everybody is peaking at the right time. No one has plateaued or bottomed out yet," Towey said.

Both the men's and women's 800-meter relay teams are expected to do well. "The women's team has more events covered, so I expect a really strong showing from them," Smith said.

He mentioned James in the 55- and 300-meter open races, Thornberry in the 800- and 100-meter races, Ely in the hurdles and long jump, and Chandler and Peterson in the long jump.

"We're ready to perform well," Smith said. "Hopefully we can carry our momentum and represent Oberlin."

On the block: A Yeoman gets off to a fast start during practice. Both teams have their sights set high for this weekend's races. (photo by John Matney)