Track delivers the goods at All-Ohio meet

Oberlin track gave a sound performance at the All-Ohio meet at Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday, despite abysmal weather conditions.

The men's team came in fifteenth place out of 17 teams. Their performance turned out better than expected, even though they lacked the kind of depth necessary to run with many of the teams in competition. "Many of the men's runners did well. Many of them showed marked improvement, and they did it when it was an important meet," head coach Tom Mulligan said.

The 4 by 100-meter relay team, consisting of sophomore Zach Rudisin and seniors Demani Johnson, Gil Saenz and Sean Wesolowski, finished in eighth place for Oberlin. "We felt good. We just had to suck it up with the weather and all," said Saenz. "We'll never be up there [in total points], but we get the experience and challenge of performing in more events than what we might be specialized in."

The 4 by 400-meter team finished in eighth place with a time of 3 minutes, 29.06 seconds, three seconds faster than their average time. For that race, Wesolowski, Rudisin and Saenz combined forces with sophomore Andre Street.

Street improved in his time for the 800-meter dash, finishing in 1:58.08. That time was good for ninth place. Saenz also ran the 400-meter hurdles, capturing second place with a time of 55.7 seconds.

"When we get to a meet we expect to do well, and that's important for this team," Mulligan said.

The Yeowomen also delivered a characteristically strong performance at the meet. They came in fourth out of the 17 teams present, amassing more points than any of the NCAC conference schools. The 4 by 100-meter relay team came in fourth place with a time of 50.90; running the race was the dynamic quartet of first-year Nzinga Broussard, sophomore Liz Chandler, junior Chamia Peterson and senior Amie Ely.

Meanwhile, the 4 by 400-meter relay team came in third place with a time of 4:09.00, run by junior Emily Lane, Chandler, Broussard and Ely. "We had to beat Wilmington in order to get in fourth place overall, and we had to get those points from the 4 by 400-meter relay. We have the potential to go to nationals," Broussard said confidently, "We just got to keep working."

For her part, Ely finished in first place for the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.74 seconds. She also finished third for her first time running the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.44, securing her the top ranking in the conference. Ely was also named co-NCAC athlete of the week for her outstanding performance.

First-year April Wynn jumped courageously in the triple jump. She finished second in that event and is now ranked third in the conference.

Broussard finished in third place for the 100-meter and 200-meter dash with times of 13.01 and 26.1. Broussard is ranked second in the conference for the 100-meter and 200-meter dash. Peterson finished fifth in the long jump with a jump of 15 feet and is ranked third in the conference.

Mulligan said the athletes accomplished what they wanted for the meet, which he viewed as good preparation for the upcoming conference championships. "Whatever happens, you know, whether they win or lose, they have to try and do their best," he said. "You have to take care of yourself and focus on what you have to do - not on the runner or jumper or thrower next to you." The track and field team will play next at John Carroll University on Friday.