The men's and women's track teams were back in action last weekend as the men traveled to Boston University to compete in the championship round of the New England Cup and the women competed at Brown in the finals of the Challenge Cup.
The Big Green men finished the meet in third place overall behind powerful University of Connecticut and Heptagonal rival Brown University.
In the 3,000 meter, co-Captain Jack Dwyer '96 turned in a fine individual effort, placing second with a good enough time to qualify for the IC4A Championship Meet in March. Will Uppington '96 also was a qualifier in the mile, finishing fifth in the race.
The 1,000 meter run saw two more qualifying times as Jim Tuxbury '97 placed second and Tim Farrell '96 took fourth place.
The four by 800 meter relay team also stepped up for the Big Green, winning the event and by using a combination of experience and pure effort to record an incredible time. Their performance also assures them a spot in March's IC4A Championship meet.
In the field events, Canadian Olympic hopeful Greg Johnston '99 continues to be a bright spot for the team. He won the 55-meter hurdles in fine fashion, an event he has already notched a qualifying time in. Johnston has also qualified in the high jump and his specialty, the Pentathlon.
Steve Clark '97 leaped six feet, 9.75 inches to place second in the high jump and qualify himself, while Lane Burks '97, a previous qualifier in the triple jump, placed third in that event and fourth in the long jump. He has been a steady performer in those events since his freshman year.
In the ring, Alex Ghanotakis '97 won the weight handily, besting his own personal mark and cleanly qualifying for the IC4As. His counterpart in the weight events, Damon Blechen '98 also easily eclipsed the qualifying mark, but he did so in the shot put and took third place in the process.
The women went to Brown for the finals of the Challenge Cup, placing sixth but concentrating on individual performances to ready themselves for the team-scoring meets that will occupy their winter weekends.
Four of the team's strongest distance runners swept the top four in the 3,000 meter run. Maribel Sanchez '96 was brilliant as she qualified for nationals with a winning time of 9:39.18. Jenna Rogers '98 was only 10 seconds behind her, Deirdre Milligan '98 was third, and Beth Crenshaw '99 took fourth.
Amy Winchester '96 continued to impress, winning the shot with a heave of 46 feet, 4.25 inches and qualifying for nationals with her first place weight throw.
Kristin Pierce '96 finished fourth in the mile. Helene Sisti '96 finished sixth in the 500 meter, while Kate Johnson '99 followed two seconds behind for eighth place.
Pilar Rodriguez '97 jumped well enough for a third in the long jump. She was joined by Lauren Newton '98 and Emily McDougal '99.
Though they did not place, some of the team's freshman gave performances that offer plenty of hope for the future.
Turning in good performances in the 1,000 meter run were Stephanie Nearpass '99 and Anne Devlin '99. Melissa Rikard '99 and Tully Pruden '99 ran well in the dashes, Helena Kimball '99 ran the mile and Wendy Skelton '99 and Alisa Antkowiak '99 fared well in their field events.
The women are looking ahead to hosting Vermont, UNH and UMass at Leverone Fieldhouse this Saturday, while the men will travel to Boston University to compete in the Terrier Classic.
