Excellent depth is the only way to describe the team’s performance this weekend at the Jim Sheenan Memorial Track Meet at Fitchburg State College. Despite an exhausting last week of classes and looming finals, Bates athletes still found the energy to outperform their competition, winning the meet by a margin of over 100 points and proving that the Bates team is an elite force in New England Track and Field.
To open the meet, Bates went 1,2,3 in the Steeplechase. Andrew Wortham (9.28), Big Red (9:40), and G. Grimball (9:50) ran solid seasonal debuts and were the only competitors to break 10 minutes in the race. The Steeple Peeple’s distance brethren also illustrated great depth in the 5k, taking the top five collegiate places (Noah 14:54, Tully 15:05, Elmo 15:18, Chebot 15:22, and Jag 15:23). Highlights of the 5k included Jag and Elmo’s performances. Jag managed to keep his shoes on and consequently ran 15:23, 19 seconds faster than last week when he lost a shoe. Elmo also demonstrated how far he’s come from his freshman year, running an astounding three minutes faster than he did at the same meet in 2010.
Bates athletes also showed exceptional depth in the 110 hurdles placing 2nd (Malibu McKallaget), 3rd (Tony Hauser), 4th (David Hardison), AND 5th (Charley Kenyon) in the event.
As usual, David Pless and Sean Enos dominated the throwing events, taking the top two places in both the shot put and discus, along with 1st and 6th in the hammer throw. Zak Kofos also took 2nd in the javelin. Also in the javelin, Luke “Silver” Harmeling, an injured distance runner, seeking to contribute, made his debut. Being one of those rare distance runners with some beef to his upper body, Silver, with more practice, shows potential to make more of an impact in the jav at future meets.
Other highlights from the meet include John Wisener and Sam Goldstein’s depth in the pole vault, sharing second place; James Lepage and Mac Stansel’s runs in the 1500 also showed depth when they took first and third place respectively in the event; and Isaiah Spofford’s second place finish in a stacked 200 was also impressive.
Depth such as this will prove valuable in a couple of weeks when the Bates Men’s Team hosts the NESCAC meet. Entry restrictions allow only three athletes to be entered in an event unless four athletes from a school all rank in the top 16. With performances like these it would not be unexpected for Bates to pick up some free fourth entries in valuable events. Having four entries in an event is the ultimate sign of a team’s depth and strength at the NESCAC meet.
Championship season may still be a couple of weeks away for the Bates team but, with performances like these, the team can’t help but long for more opportunities to show their depth and proof their worth. The team will certainly get their chance this coming weekend against Colby and MIT at Colby College.
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