Green Key Weekend. For most of the campus, it is a weekend of sun and fun and partying until students are sick. For 17 members of the track team, it will be a weekend of throwing, jumping, and running hard enough to be sick at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Fairfax, VA.
It may sound unsettling, but it is a trade-off the tracksters will gladly take. For some of them, the ECAC/IC4As represent the final chance of their collegiate careers for competition. For a few others, the meet will serve as an opportunity to meet some quality competition before they move on to the NCAA Championships or Olympic Trials in June.
The men representing the Big Green are going into the meet with high expectations for themselves. In the ring, Alex Ghanotakis '97 will try to improve on an early season best in the discus to get the NCAA standard, ensuring him a place in the NCAA Championships at the end of the month. He has already eclipsed the provisional standard and is a favorite to win the event.
Two other throwers, Adam Nelson '97 and Damon Blechen '98, will put the shot. Nelson is another thrower who has impressed all season, breaking his own school record, winning big meets and qualifying for both the NCAAs and Olympic Trials in June.
On the track, multi-talented Gordon Spaeth '97 will compete in the decathlon and Jack Dwyer '96 is favored to win the 5,000 meter run. Eric Szegda '97 will be looking for a personal record in the 100 meter dash, as will Tim Farrell '96, Ryan Donovan '96, Will Uppington '96 and Brian Barry '96 who make up the four by 800 meter relay team.
The relay team has consistently scored at the big meets indoors and outdoors over the past two years, and the four seniors are looking forward to the race.
"This is our last chance to run together as a relay," Donovan said. "We are all going to miss the team a lot, and I am sure we will miss competing ... eventually."
"I couldn't ask for a better way to finish my running career," Barry said.
The women too will go into the meet with a killer instinct. Three underclassmen will join a group of seven seniors who are a part of one of the finest classes to wear the green in the history of the team. The Class of 1996 has a huge list of accomplishments, including several school records and Olympic Trials qualifiers, but the women are not done yet.
In the 5,000 meter run, Maribel Sanchez '96, Kristin Pierce '96, Bethany Crenshaw '99 and Deirdre Milligan '98 will be a force to be reckoned with, as opponents from the Heptagonal and New England Championships will attest.
Kristin Manwaring '96 is a heavy favorite in the 1,500 meter run, as is Sanchez in the 3,000.
In the throwing events, Amy Winchester '96 will try to break the school record in the discus and improve her shot put record again, and Sarah Howald '96 will throw the javelin. Howald came dangerously close to her own school record two weeks ago, and has one more chance Saturday.
"It is a very competitive meet and it will just be fun to see how we can all do," Howald said.
