Ephs come up short at Div. 3s
The Men's Track and Field team traveled to Tufts this weekend to compete in the Division III New England indoor track and field championships. The team had been gearing up all week for the occasion, and ended up placing second - losing the championship for the first time in five years. "This is a special meet for our team. The energy level is always high and the competition is always fierce. It's the one meet all year when we forget about individual performances and work together to fight for the team title," said senior captain Chris Beeler.
Senior All-American Andrew "Skinny" Arons flexed his muscles early in the sprints, contributing valuable points to the team. He finished third in the 55 meter dash, behind returning national champion Eddie Bynum of Salem State. Later in the meet, he took the 200 meter title with a blazing time of 21.61. He finished the race almost a full second ahead of the nearest competitor.
Junior Deividas "Lithium" Seferis also ran the 200, taking third place. First Year Matt Sullivan took two points in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing 7th. Freshman phenom Taylor Fitzgerald came up big, sprinting to a 400 meter dash victory with a time of 50.43 seconds. He raced with a dramatic flair, coming from behind to claim victory in the final meters of the race.
Junior Macklin Chaffee was the middle distance all-star of the day. Chaffee raced well in the mile, crossing the line in second place. His time of 4.12.55 should earn him a trip to the national championships at Ohio Northern in three weeks. He also came back to take second in the 1000 meter run, and anchored the 4 x 800 relay team that came in second.
Sophomore Edgar Kosgey won the 800 meter dash with a time of 1.55.45. He raced well, taking a commanding lead early on that the other competitors couldn't recover from. Senior co-captains Chris Beeler and Mack Brickley also contributed points to the team total, coming in fourth in the 600 meter and 1000 meter runs, respectively. The 4 x 400 relay, distance medley relay, and 4 x 800 meter relay all took second place.
Senior Andrew DeSalvo won the shot put with a toss of 15.41 meters. Sophomore Sy Schotz also earned a point for the team, finishing 8th in the pentathlon.
In the end, the combined individual efforts of the Ephmen were worth a second place finish out of 24 teams. The Ephs finished with 106 points, just behind champion Tufts with 118 points and ahead of MIT with 101 points.
