The Observer, March 3, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 19
Track teams gear up for conference championships
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The track teams spent last week tuning up for the last meet of the indoor season. That does not mean they were not putting forth their best efforts, as Desmond Ellis broke the Case record for the 55-meter dash.
The teams competed at the Oberlin Open last Saturday and will compete at the UAA Championships today and tomorrow at Illinois Wesleyan. The conference championships are the culmination of the season for these athletes as they put together all their hard work for one last important run.
Last week, Ellis ran a 6.65 in the 55-meter to break the old record of 6.68 held by him and Devin Harris and is hoping to break the record by an even greater margin this weekend. He is also looking to place high in the 200.
Chris Molnar also won his race last week. He will need to beat his best time of the season, though, with some stiff competition in the 800.
Alex Drollinger currently has the second best throw in both the shot put and the weight throw. Last week, he won the shot put and has been improving his distances every week.
Two important pieces of the men's team will be distance runners Aaron Johnston-Peck and Stephen Hrinda. Johnston-Peck was injured recently after putting up a provisional time for nationals in the 5000-meter race. He will be running this week, though. Hrinda has picked up the slack, consistently running very fast times in the 5000 and the one-mile. Both will have a chance at success this weekend.
For the women, Esther Erb will be leading the team. She has already posted provisional national times in the 5000 and one-mile. She may also be running in the distance medley relay. The DMR team will face some pretty stiff competition, as three of the UAA women's relay teams have already posted provisional times.
Rebecca Moore will also be looking to contribute to points scoring with another high finish in the 800. Kristin Bowhers will be right behind her and could see success in the one-mile.
Moore has high hopes for both herself, the DMR, and the team.
"I would like to see the team get place fourth overall, or higher," Moore said. "My goal in the 800 is to make it to finals (top six), and I'd like to run a 2:20. In the DMR, my goal is for us to run under the provisional time as much as possible so that we have a chance at making it to nationals."
For the sprinters, Emily Bruckner has the fourth best 55-meter time for the women this year and the fifth best 200 time. She won the 200 last week at Oberlin.
As for the men, Adam Goodrich sees them coming together at just the right time.
"As a team, we've gotten a few of our top runners back from injury, which will certainly help," Goodrich said. "Our throwers are at the top of their 'throwingness.' We even have two high jumpers who are nearly guaranteed points. Things are coming together at just the right moment. We're part of a tough conference, but we should finish right in the thick of things."
Drollinger said it is time for the team to prove itself.
"We proved in outdoor we can perform at a high level, so now we have to show it
wasn't a fluke," Drollinger said. "We have done the training. Now it's time to believe."
Both Drollinger and Paul Hannen are especially hoping to beat Carnegie Mellon.
Coach Harris said he is not looking for anything specifically from the team, but rather from the individuals.
"You'd like to come back with a couple champions and top threes in individual events," Harris said. "Do better than last year, get better each week. If the individual gets better and performs, so does the team."
Women's coach Kathy Lanese expects strong performances from all her runners this week
"I have high expectations for everyone this week as I always do at UAA's," Lanese said. "The key for each athlete is to relax during competition and has fun while competing. In the past those are the athletes who have always performed the best!"
She was able to pick out a number of athletes in all areas of the teams that she will specifically looking for top finishes.
"We have several [athletes] that I believe will finish high: The DMR with a potential national qualification, senior Noon in the throws, senior Harmonie Foster in the sprints, junior Emily Bruckner in the sprints and jumps, sophomore Esther Erb in mid-distance, freshman Kristen Bowhers in mid-distance, and freshman Rebecca Moore in mid-distance," Lanese said.
Coach Harris also has a number of runners, throwers, and jumpers he can see placing well at UAAs, including Ellis, Trevor Ilse, Derrick Moore, Molnar, Johnston-Peck, and Hrinda. They compete in a good mix of events.
"I'm happy with my coaching staff getting the athletes ready," Harris said. "And now it's time for the athletes to perform."
