Volume CXXXI, Number 22 April 19, 2002 f

Men's track steps up to state rivals
TAYLOR WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER

After trouncing Maine rivals USM and Gordon at home on April 6, the Bowdoin Men's Track Team drove down to Cambridge, MA to take on the powerful Engineers of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Division II River Hawks of the University of Massachusetts - Lowell. With beautiful spring weather, several Polar Bears were able to post some of the top times in New England and earn victories in their individual events.

Nick Lyford '02, already the school-record holder in the javelin, shattered his own mark with a winning throw of 189'2". He was supported by teammate Dan Ginn'03, who finished third with a throw of 166'. Lyford also won the shot put with a throw of 44'9", edging out Francisco Cruz of MIT. Chris Wagner'04 (41'6") and junior Jamie Salsich (40'6") also placed for Bowdoin.

In the jumping events, Bowdoin was lead by Ginn, who came out of nowhere to triple jump an amazing 45'3". Ginn's leap gave him a four-foot personal best and an easy victory over a very strong field of competitors. All-American sophomore high jumper James Wilkins was reunited with two of his indoor track rivals from MIT and finished third despite a highly impressive jump of 6'8". Pole vaulters Jon Todd '05, Tim Pasakarnis '03, and Mike Butler '02 all cleared 13' to finish third, fourth and sixth respectively.

In the sprints, Bowdoin was paced by Brian Laurits '04, who finished fourth in both the 100-meter dash (11.07) and the 200-meter dash (22.23). In the 200, he was followed closely by fellow-sophomore Phil Webster, who clocked 22.67 en route to finishing seventh. Webster also finished third in the 400-meter run with a personal best of 49.31 and crossed the line just ahead of sophomore Greg Bangser, who finished eighth in 50.83.

The 1,500-meter run proved to be the strongest distance event for the Bears, as senior Mad Dog Wall (who warmed up with Boston legend Bill Rodgers), Scott Herrick'04, Pat Vardaro'03 and Jeff Rubens'03 took fifth through eighth. Wall and Herrick both crossed the line in 4:01, right behind the leaders, while Vardaro and Rubens ran 4:02 and 4:08, respectively. In the 5,000-meter run, long-distance specialist Conor O'Brien '03 outlasted several fading Tech runners en route to a fourth place finish and a solid time of 15:40.

This weekend the men will travel to Colby where they will face teams from Bates, the University of Southern Maine, and Colby in the Maine State Meet.