Track Digs in for NCAC Meet

Three school records, one field house record, and one meet record. Five players or relays ranked in the top three spots in seven different events.

And championships are still a week away.

Oberlin's indoor track and field teams are in the home stretch as they head toward the conference meet on Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4. Last week's meet at Baldwin-Wallace University and tonight's home meet include several noticeable no-shows, as individual runners and throwers begin to taper.

The women's team continues to dominate much of their opposition, particularly in the short sprints. First-year Courtney Stackhouse owns the conference's best times - as well as the OC school records - in both the 55m and 200m dashes. Her 55m time was also the fastest ever at the Heisman Field House. The 4x200 relay, comprised of sophomore Apryl Wynn, Stackhouse, senior co-captain Christiana Nwofor, and junior Liz Chandler, is also tops in the conference. They also set the meet record at the NCAC Relays on Jan. 29. Chandler is third in the NCAC in the 400m dash and the long jump. Wynn is third in the 55m hurdles.

For the men, the 2000 season is unfortunately becoming another year of too few healthy runners. But that's not to say those that are running aren't doing well. Junior John Rogers holds the NCAC's second-best time in the 5000m run and looks to be a valid threat for first-place come championships. Junior co-captain Zach Rudisin set a school record in the 200m dash at Case Western Reserve back on February 4.

He was understandably sheepish about the honor. "It was default... it's never been done before," said Rudisin. The NCAC replaced the 300m dash with the 200m dash this season, making Rudisin's time the only one entered in the school record books. "I mean, it's a nice feeling, but I have to keep going at it and getting better until it's a decent record."

With their rosters stacked with potential all-conference athletes, the Yeorunners took on Case Western Reserve, John Carroll, Hiram and host Baldwin-Wallace at the Greater Cleveland Colleges Meet on Feb. 18. The women's team would place third at the meet, while the men were unable to overcome their numerical disadvantage, and finished fifth.

For the first time this season, the OC women placed two throwers in the top 10 in the shot put. First-year Chi Chi Ndubisi took eighth, while junior Gloria Adams placed tenth. In the women's high jump, sophomore Anna Ruth and senior Kate O'Brien tied for fourth. Chandler took top honors in the long jump. Wynn was fourth in the triple jump and came in second in the 55m hurdles, less than two-tenths of a second off the winnner.

In the 55m dash, Stackhouse was second and Nwofor fourth. The 400m dash had Chandler winning, with first-year Vicki Alla finishing seventh. First-year Cambria Hamburg was fourth in the 1500m. The distance runners put in another strong showing, although not quite as dominating as in past weeks. Senior Beth Spalding was eighth and junior Jenni Huelsman ninth.

"We're doing really well," said Huelsman. "[First-year] Laura [Feeney] and Beth and I are looking to be the pack to beat."

The 4x200 team turned in a less-than-sterling performance, but still managed second in the meet. Their time of 1:52.69 was over three seconds behind their previous best, but to give you an idea of how dominating this team is, their time was still better than the best efforts of six of the eight other NCAC teams.

Rudisin took second in the 55m dash finals, just one-tenth of a second behind the leader. Rudisin would later take fourth in the 300m dash. Junior Andre Street took fourth in the 400m. Junior co-captain Dan "Super Chicken" Schwartz took ninth in both the 800m and 1500m runs.

"A lot of people are tired right now, we're getting near the end of the season," said sophomore co-captain Dan Blackburn. "The fact is, we've been here since the fifth of January and we've been going non-stop."

Senior Colin Fishwick was third in the 3000m. Juniors David Bevacqua and John Rogers took the week off to conserve their bodies for the all-important championship meet. Bevacqua will be back on the track tonight because, as Huelsman put it, he's "crazy."

Nwofor won't be running either. "I have some knee problems, so I'm resting so I can be in shape for next week," she said. At press time, the team was unsure whether it would substitute another sprinter on the 4x200 relay or give the other runners some much needed rest.

There's no shortage of back-up runners at this point. With the Lady Crimson's early exit from the NCAC women's basketball tournament, several members of the squad are getting onto the track in preparation for outdoor season. Included among the fresh legs is last year's NCAC Outdoor Sprinter of the Year, sophomore Nzinga Brousard.

The men are also finally adding some depth. "Our team is growing," said Rudisin. "We have a lot more guys out now and they look really good. Of course, most of them have never done any track before." Four new members have joined the Yeomen, including three sprinters and a middle distance runner. "Right now, we're pretty much at our group for the year," said Blackburn. "We'll get a couple more for outdoor, but those are mainly specialists who just throw javelin or discus."

"Things are looking up for us," Rudisin added. "We've just got to get these guys in shape, get 'em ready to run, and we'll be cooking."

The teams may have their sights already set on next weekend's championship meet, but anyone looking for excitement at tonight's meet surely won't be disappointed. The Yeorunners host Bethany, Defiance, Hiram, John Carroll, Walsh and Wittenberg tonight at the Heisman Field House. Field events begin at 6 p.m. and running events at 7:45 p.m.

Who's Carl Lewis?: Freshman Steffon Thomas goes the distance during practice. (photo by Julie Johnson)