Track gets hot

Although most runners viewed last Friday's home meet against Bethany, John Carroll and Walsh College as little more than an opportunity to prepare for their upcoming conference championships, you would never know it by looking at the numbers. Indeed, the men's and women's indoor track and field teams enjoyed strong performances across the board, and their collective efforts translated into a number of impressive first-place finishes.

Once again, the Yeowomen dazzled their opponents, as senior Amie Ely came in first in the 55 meter hurdles competition, completing the race in a mere 8.6 seconds. That time was a small but significant improvement upon her average of 8.84 seconds, which is tops in the conference. As has been the case throughout the season, Ely combined forces with sophomore Elizabeth Chandler and juniors Christiana Nwofor and Emily Lane for the 800 meter and 1600 meter relays; predictably, the fab four captured first-place finishes in both events with respective times of 1:50.5 and 4:17.8. Although neither time was good enough to elevate them in the conference standings - the women are currently ranked first in the 800 and fifth in the 1600 - Ely, Chandler, Nwofor and Lane still managed to outrun their opponents.

The women continued their rampage, as Chandler won the long jump competition with a 15'11 1/2 effort. That distance matched her season average, which ranks third in the NCAC. And while Ely finished second in the event with a 15'2 jump, she was unable to improve upon her own average of 16'3 1/4, which is - you guessed it - tops in the conference. Not to be outdone, Nwofor delivered a characteristically strong performance, capturing first-place in the 55 meter dash and second-place in the 300 meter race. Finally, sophomore Mary Margaret Towey finished second in the shot put contest, throwing for a distance of 33'9 1/4.

Despite their failure to climb higher in the standings, the women were generally pleased with the outcome of the meet. "Although I wanted to do a little better last week, it was still a pretty good meet," said Lane. "We wanted a faster time in the 1600 meter relay, but we weren't able to go our fastest. We ran alongside the men from Walsh, and they slowed us down a bit by not keeping up the pace we were aiming for. Liz Chandler did run a really terrific race, though. So things went well.

"I'm really excited about the conference meet. We only have 10 women going, but we should do really well. We'll have two members of the women's basketball team competing with us - April Wynn in the high jump and Chamia Peterson in the long jump and 55 meter hurdles - and that can only help. We should also come in first in the 800 meter and 1600 meter races. So it'll be good."

For their part, the men's team rebounded from a relatively disappointing meet at Baldwin-Wallace by capturing three first-place finishes and dominating their opponents across the board. Junior Mark Sasaki won the pole vault contest, achieving a height of 10 feet; he continued to enjoy success in the 500 meters, placing second in the competition with a time of 1:19.9.

Meanwhile, first-year Zach Rudisin and seniors Felix Brooks-Church, Sean Wesolowski and Gil Saenz enjoyed a typically strong finish in the 800 meter relay, completing the race in just 1:36.8 and beating their time at the Greater Cleveland Colleges meet by 0.15 seconds. Their efforts were good for a third-place finish. Rudisin also won the 55 meter dash, while first-year Andre Street placed first in the 800 meters and second in the pole vault. All things considered, it was a remarkable day for the Yeomen.

"The men's team is a group that's worked really hard all season," said coach Tom Mulligan. "They've had a tough year, primarily due to the loss of certain runners, but they have pulled together and responded well. They have done the best job they can under the circumstances. That's a credit to their attitude."

Mulligan viewed the meet as a positive experience for both teams, even if it was merely preparation for the upcoming NCAC championships. "Friday's meet was really a tune-up for the conference meet this weekend," he said. "We didn't run everybody at all the events they normally compete in. But things went well, and we accomplished most of our goals."

Looking forward to this weekend's competition, Mulligan seemed optimistic. "The key things for both teams is that they have experienced a lot of adversity, but they've responded admirably. I can't say enough about how hard they've worked in spite of the setbacks. Every team has that - an injury or whatever else. The key is how you respond. Thanks to good senior leadership and lots of enthusiasm, we've met the challenge. So this weekend, no matter what the other teams have or might do, we'll be ready to jump, run and throw as well as we can. We'll let the chips fall where they may."

Riding the wave of success into the conference championships, the men's and women's indoor track and field teams hope to leave their opponents in the dust on Friday and Saturday at Denison University. Be there.