The Observer, February 1, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 15
Distance runners, throwers prove their worth at Spartan Relays
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The Spartan men's and women's track and field squads started the season off strong at home. The men placed in numerous events, as expected. Brandon Jefferies (13.65 m) and Ryan Breon (13.40 m) placed first and second in the men's weight throw and fourth and fifth in shot put, respectively. Dominic Smith took home the one-mile title with a time of 4:23.34, captain Mike Petro took first in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:49.62, and Brett Beaugureau finished third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.31. Another name that may not stick out in the stat sheet, but was not overlooked by head coach Stephen Rubin, was Obinna Nwanna, who is training this year for the decathlon.
"He did five events on Saturday and was outstanding in all of them. In fact, he actually mimicked the first day of a decathlon (100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter dash) by doing the long jump, 55-meter dash, the shot put, high jump ,and 4x400-meter relay," said Rubin. Nwanna finished second in the long jump, sixth in the shot, second in the high jump, and had strong races in the 55-meter and 4x4.
The women's team also had a number of placements. Captain Esther Erb took home the 3000-meter title with a time of 10:32.40, with her teammates Justine Jeroski and Kristen Bowhers finishing right behind her in second and third place, with times of 10:33.01 and 10:35.89, respectively. Andrea Fischione and Leanne Austin both placed in the 5000-meter, with Fischione placing first with a time of 18:23.48 and Austin placing third with a time of 20:25.72.
In the field events, Allison Early won the women's weight throw with a toss of 12.84 meters and her teammate Elizabeth Ehrke placed second with a toss of 12.28 meters. "It felt really great to be competing again," said Early. "[And] also to watch my teammates compete. Everyone did really great, especially for the first meet." Other placements by the women's field team included third and fourth-place finishes in the long jump by Kali Knolle and Katelyn Bush.
The Spartans are already looking ahead to today's battle at the Case Western Reserve University Invitational. "[Friday's] meet will be a lot more fun because now everyone has experience and realistic times and goals to set for themselves, so we really know what we're working for," said Knolle.
The experience from the first meet will help the young team along. The men's team looks to improve, and despite having lost many experienced members from the previous year, junior Ryan Breon is optimistic the Spartans can hold their own.
"We scored 53 points at [the UAA Championships] last year and we graduated or lost 36 of those," he said. "There is no doubt in my mind that we can compete at that same level if not higher this year."
The coaching staff, including head coach Stephen Rubin and coach Kathy Lanese, found the performances of their athletes promising. "We found from this weekend that, as we suspected, the distance runners and throwers are in a really strong place. They are either right where we projected them to be or slightly ahead, which is great," said Rubin. "In our other event areas, I think a lot of our younger athletes found out that they can be competitive very quickly. Many were right at the top of the results and those who weren't were close." The expectations will be high for the remainder of the season, but Rubin will not relent. As his team already knows, he is not one to relax and allow his team to lag behind the competition.
