The glitz of the unrelenting records for women's indoor track team was gilded in gold at the conference championships meet last week with an impressive finish.
The Oberlin women's track team placed third in the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet last weekend, the best finish the team has seen since its inception.
Nine Oberlin runners finished in the top three places of their events, racking up 18 all-conference titles. "This is the most all-conference performances we've had since we've joined the conference," Coach Thomas Mulligan said.
The women were the only team to sweep an event, taking the long jump in three straight jumps. Sophomore Chamia Peterson came in first, setting a new Oberlin varsity record, followed by teammates junior Amie Ely and first-year Elizabeth Chandler.
Senior Trista Thornberry won the 1500-meter race and came in third in the 800-meter race, setting another Oberlin varsity record.
Oberlin's three relay teams all placed second, setting new Oberlin varsity records. "The performance of the relays really paid big dividends in terms of points and in terms of momentum," Mulligan said.
Chandler also broke the Oberlin varsity record in the 400-meter race. Although she placed fifth in the final race, during the time trials she broke the record set by her teammate sophomore Nicole James earlier this season. Chandler's time was 1.5 seconds faster than James'.
Mulligan was very happy with the women's performance. "They continued the onslaught of breaking and re-breaking records," he said. "It just means that people are getting better and better. Even people who aren't in a position to win or to break records, they are still able to get better and add to the momentum of the team."
Mulligan continued, "This has been an effort by the whole team, and it has had a very positive effect. Add talent and good coaching, and you've got a recipe for something that tastes pretty good, even better than your mom's chicken soup."
Meanwhile, the men were busy stewing over their disappointing last place finish. The Yeomen still managed to generate five all-NCAC performances in the Championship meet despite numerous injuries.
One of the more notable performances came from David Ellis, who finished third in the 300-meter open. During the time trials for that race, Ellis broke the Oberlin varsity record, which he had set earlier in the season.
The 1600-meter relay team also came in third and junior Dan Feldman finished fourth in the 400-meter open.
Mulligan said a lot of the team's top runners were injured at the meet. "Injuries are a part of athletics," said Mulligan, "and I'm not going to say that we were the only team with injuries, but we didn't have the depth to make it up."
Feldman, who was ranked among the top three sprinters in the conference, entered the meet with an injured hamstring.
During the meet, junior Gil Saenz also pulled his hamstring, and senior James Richter tripped in the 800-meter and didn't finish the race. He received only minor cuts and rebounded to run as a member of Oberlin's third place 4x400 relay.
"People got tangled up off the blocks," Mulligan said. "We felt bad for James because he had worked very hard to get to the finals and he would have been in there."
All season, the men have been running in the shadow of the successes of the women's team. "It's been tough for them," said Mulligan, "but this group of guys really hung together."
The spring track season will begin April 18 for both the men and women teams.
And genuflect: The women's indoor track team warmed up before practice this week. The women finished their season at third place in the conference and are ready for more this Spring. (photo by James Cochran)
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 18, March 13, 1998
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