The men's and women's track teams competed in two meets over spring break, taking some of the squad to the Northeastern Spring Open on March 24 and a smaller, select group to the highly competitive Stanford Invitational on March 30 and 31. Neither meet kept team scores, so the team only posted individual results.
The less-competitive Northeastern meet served as an opportunity for athletes to get their competitive juices flowing, and many competed in events other than their primary specialty. The women's team was lead by co-captain Akilah King '08, who captured first in the 200-meter dash, running 25.15 seconds, and won the triple jump as well, leaping 37 feet, 4.5 inches.
Other notable performances included a slew of second-place finishes. Thelma Breezeatl '10, fresh off of her win in the 60-meter dash at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships, finished second in the 200-meter dash. Classmate Jasmine Chukwueke '10 placed second in the 400-meter dash and helped the 4x400 meter relay to a runner-up finish in 4:00.19. Former volleyball standout Rikki Baldwin '07 continued the streak of second-place finishes, claiming the runner-up position to King in the triple jump. Danielle Grunloh '10 was the runner-up in the discus.
The men had several strong individual performances, as well, including two wins by Jamil McClintock '08, who won the 110-meter hurdles and the 200-meter dash, running 14.58 seconds and 22.49 seconds, respectively. McClintock's effort in the hurdles currently ranks him third in the Ivy League. Captain Paul Rosiak '07 won the javelin with a throw of 199 feet, 10 inches and is currently ranked second in the league in the event. Andrew Chapin '10 also claimed a victory, winning the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 2.5 inches.
Matthew Jasmin '09 placed second behind McClintock in the 200-meter dash, while Christian Tabib '07 finished third in the 800-meter run. Bryan Powlen '10 placed second in the discus, with teammate Kai Brown '08 placing third in the same event. Miles Craigwell '09 also broke into the top three, placing third in the triple jump. Brown also entered two 4x400 meter relays that claimed second and third place.
The following weekend, a small group of athletes traveled to California with the hope of hitting Regional-qualifying times. Highlighting the effort was rookie Jenna Ridgway '10, whose 16:40.08 effort in the 5,000-meter run nearly broke the school record set last year by All-American Anna Willard '06. The time qualifies her for Regionals and ranks her second all-time for the Bears.
Naja Ferjan '07 and Lindsay Kahn '09 nearly qualified for Regionals in their respective events, both missing the standard by less than a second. Ferjan completed the 800-meter run in 2:10.41, while Kahn clocked in at 10:50.28 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Brian Schmidt '09 was the standout performer for the men's team at Stanford, running 14:20.60 in the 5,000-meter run. Schmidt's time is good for eighth on Brown's top-10 list. Another outstanding effort came from rookie Reginald Cole '10, who leapt 47 feet, 10.5 inches in the triple jump. The performance ranks him ninth all-time for the Bears.
The teams head to the University of Connecticut this Saturday for their next competition.
