The Observer, March 2, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 19
Ready or not, track teams travel to Brandeis for UAA
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The track and field team performed well at Oberlin last Friday in an unscored tournament that marked the final tune-up before the UAA Championships at Brandeis University this Friday and Saturday.
"It was a good meet for us to get ready for conferences," said head coach Dennis Harris.
Freshman Obinna Nwanna turned in a quality performance, placing third in the long jump, leaping a distance of six meters, and placing second in the men's triple jump. Pat Fiduccia placed third in that event. The Spartans did well in the men's high jump, with Derrick Moore placing first, Zachary Polk taking second, and Nwanna tying Bobby Campbell of Allegheny for third place.
The men also did well in the throwing events.
"They've been the most consistent group all year. Our guys put in a lot of work," said Harris. Senior Paul Hannen placed second in the shot put. Junior David Jeffries placed third. "We were near our personal records, which gives us a lot of momentum going into conferences," said Hannen.
The men's distance team dominated the 3000-meter run. Mike Petro placed first with a time 8:58.40. Dominic Smith took second, Austin Schmidt took third and Ryan Gjoraas placed fourth.
"At Oberlin I moved people around a little bit to get them ready for conferences. On the guy's side, I shuffled the mile relay team and put Derrick Moore in the open 200," Harris said. "But otherwise I tried to keep people in the events they'd be running at conferences."
The lady Spartans also had a strong showing, with two first-place finishers. Freshman Joy Zhu finished first in the one mile run, with a time of 5:45, and sophomore Shree Collins placed first in the long jump, leaping 5.64 meters. The ladies also did well in the 200-meter dash, with senior Emily Bruckner taking fourth and freshman Whitney Horne finishing third.
Still, Horne wasn't pleased with her performance. "Unfortunately, I ran horribly this past weekend, but I think I got my bad races out before conferences," she said.
"It's hectic when we're getting ready for conferences," said Harris. "I have to deal with 60 plane tickets, we have a war board with every athlete that's going to run, we have to get itineraries together," said Harris.
The UAA tournament also comes at a difficult time for students.
"It's tough for them because they have midterms that they're stressed out about, and then you have this big meet coming up too."
Harris and his coaching staff prepare the team both physically and mentally.
"They'll typically have a lighter week," he said. "We want them to peak at the right time. Mentally, we stress that this is an important meet. This is what they've been training for."
The Spartan's most difficult opposition will come from Washington University. "They're the team to beat," said Harris. The men's distance squad will also face a tough challenge from NYU, which has a loaded men's distance team.
But Harris isn't hung up on how many points the team scores. "You train people, then you let them perform. It's as simple as that."
