The outdoor track teams put on some spectacular performances at Trinity on Saturday in the NESCAC championship meet.
Owen Kiely ’06 earned the top spot in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, finishing in 9:34.41, and Pat Moffett ’04 took the title in the 110-meter hurdles for the second straight year. Moffett, who crossed the 110-meter finish line in just under 15 seconds, ran a successful 400-meter hurdles for the second straight week, taking second place in: 55.61. The other second place winner for the Derrty Birds was Dave Tudor ’06, who threw the javelin 167 feet, 8 inches.
“Our NESCAC champs, Owen and Pat, both won in a dominating fashion running away with their respective races. Tudor came up big for us in the javelin, taking home the silver with a throw of 167-8 in heavy wind,” said Wes Fuhrman ’05.
Fuhrman finished fourth in the 5,000-meter event (15:20.51), and Bryan Bissell ’04 also placed fourth in the 10,000-meter event (33:38.73).
“Fuhrman gave a brave and gutsy performance in the 5-K, pushing the pace through most of the race. After finishing behind two of the finest Division III runners in the country at NESCAC, I expect his warrior spirit to lead him beyond that to victory in the next week or two,” Bissell said.
“Owen silenced what few nay-sayers remained with his dominant performance in the steeplechase. ”
One of the most dramatic events of the day was the 10,000-meter race, featuring the Cardinal’s Ed Kenney ’07 racing against his twin brother Will from Bates. Ed trained hard for the race and was determined to be victorious over his brother, and the hard work paid off when he finished in eleventh place (34:43.82), a full four places before Will, who finished more than a minute later.
“Me and [Bissell] set the pace for the day with dominant performances in the 10-K. Furthermore, I destroyed my brother, making the victory even sweeter” Kenney said.
“I think Eddy’s performance was great. The 10-K is a monster of a race, especially for a freshman. But Ed slayed the monster as he picked up steam throughout the race and finished just out of scoring, but with a very impressive time,” Fuhrman said.
In other action, Mshangwe Crawford ’04 triple jumped 43 feet, 5 inches, good for fourth place, and Matt Moss ’05 placed sixth by running 800 meters in 1:57.33.
Wesleyan finished seventh out of the eleven competing teams.
Kalia Lydgate ’07 gave the ladies of Wesleyan an All-NESCAC performance by throwing the javelin 108 feet, 2 inches, good for second place.
“The javelin is a very mental sport, and things just came together for me. The weather was beautiful, my teammates were very encouraging and supportive, and I had the power to put my throws just where I wanted them to go. I also realized that this could be my last meet of the season,” Lydgate said.
Erin Smith ’06 and Ellen Davis ’07 just missed All-NESCAC honors, as Smith finished fourth in the 10,000-meter event (38:23.30) and Davis finished fourth in the 5,000-meter event (18:10.28). Although each of them performed very well, they were hoping for more.
“It’s been a long, hard year and some of us are starting to feel it,” Davis said.
In other events, Jen Brown ’04 took sixth place in the 400-meter hurdles (1:07.93) and Brittany Allen ’04 finished seventh in the 1500-meter race (4:54.74).
The Lady Cardinals finished eighth out of the eleven competing NESCAC teams.
The next events for the Wesleyan track teams are Saturday’s New England Division III meets. The men will go up to Williams for the meet, and the ladies’ meet will take place in Springfield.
Leave a Reply