The indoor track teams put on impressive performances Saturday, propelling themselves to a strong finish at the Tufts Invitational in Mass. The men’s team finished ninth out of the 18 competing teams. Pat Moffett ’04 continued his successful season when he triumphed over the other 29 contestants in the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in :07.73. Bryan Bissell ’04 finished fourth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:46.38, and Owen Kiely ’06 racked up at fifth place finish in the 3,000-meter run (8:53.30).
These two men, who have led the Cardinal “Derrty Bird” runners all year, finished well in their respective races. Mshangwe Crawford ’04 also scored team points for the Cardinals with a sixth place finish in the triple jump competition.
“The unseasonably warm temperatures up in Somerville, [Mass.] or ‘Slumerville,’ as Max Piana calls it, must have thrown us off of our game a little bit in spite of it being an indoor track meet,” said Bissell. “It reminds me of the time that I met Johnny Cash one hot Nebraska summer morning, and the rain was steaming up his sunglasses. The metaphor here is that we didn’t achieve as many goals as we had hoped. Nevertheless, Pat Moffett, Seth Warren and Owen Kiely had strong races. But on the whole I foresee a revival, a Great Awakening on a Winthropian scale, in weeks to come as the Derrty Birds once again take wing.”
The women’s team placed seventh out of 19 teams. The individual performance of the day belonged to Ellen Davis ’07, who finished her cross-country season by leading the team at the NCAA Division III Nationals. Davis has continued to run well during the indoor track season, crossing the finish line for the 5,000-meter competition in first place after 18 minutes and eight seconds of lightning fast running.
“Ellen ran an amazing 5 [kilometer] race. It was definitely nice to see, especially since all but three of the sprinters are seniors this year,” said Morgan Philbin ’04. “It was nice to see the freshmen being able to perform when we need them.”
The relay squad, consisting of Philbin, Ester Schlegel ’04, Jenna Flateman ’04, and Abby Austin ’07 placed first in the 4×200 meter relay. Flateman and Schlegel also tore apart the competition in other events. Flateman finished third in the 55-meter sprint (:07.73) and fifth in the 200 meter dash (:27.59), while Schlegel captured second place in the 55 meter hurdles (:08.85).
“One of the things that was really good about this meet is people starting to step it up. There’s only one more meet, then a championship meet. The performance in the relay reflected our need to qualify. Coach set a time for us, and we weren’t sure if we could hit it. We actually went faster and qualified for everything except for Nationals. It’s nice to not worry about it,” Philbin said.
In other competition, Kristy Williams ’06 threw 38 feet, 1 in. in the shot put and 45 ft., 1 in. in the weight throw, both personal records good for fourth place. Rebecca Morrell ’06 jumped 33 ft., 3 in. in the triple jump, sixth best in the competition. Rebecca Weinstein ’04 placed eighth in high jump with a height of 4 ft., 9 in. Cara Chebuske ’06 took seventh with a time of 2:28.79 in the 800-meter event.
“Time is running low and the regular season is running out, but us Wes Tech All Stars just keep on, keep trucking. It’s been a hard fought battle by many to qualify and gain personal records this year. But as everyone’s last chance to qualify approaches this weekend, we get to show who’s got the real guts on the team,” said Pat Moffet ’04.
The next indoor track event is the Cardinal Invitational, which takes place in Freeman Athletic Center Sat.
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