Boston, MA-- The Reebok Boston Indoor Games represented many firsts for the Ephs in their 2009 indoor track season. It was the first opportunity to run on a banked track. It was the first scored meet of the year and therefore the most competitive thus far. In addition it marked the first of six consecutive trips to the Boston area for track meets.
The Ephs finished 7th out of 13 teams, a respectable showing considering the quality of the competition. Northeastern won the meet with a score of 118 points; the UMass Amherst finished second with 83.5. Williams had 54 points. In addition, Williams was not at top strength. As Deividas "Lithium" Seferis '12 put it, "Flu epidemic was the top scorer on the team this week."
Seferis was also a key contributor to Williams point total. He took 6th in the 55m sprint, running 6.60 and scoring three points. Seferis also performed well as a member of Williams' 2nd place 4x400 team, which finished in a time of 3:21.94 and just behind UMass Lowell's team. Taylor Fitzgerald '11, Richard Fusco '12, and Alex Hoerman '09 were other members of the 4x400 team.
The other Williams' relay team shined as well. The distance medley relay combination of Connor Kamm '10 (1200m leg), Geoff Rodriguez '11 (800m leg), Dan Waters '11 (400m leg), and Edgar Kosgey '10 (1600m leg) finished third, scoring six points for the team.
Like Seferis, Kosgey also scored in an individual event, finishing second in the 800m. Kosgey's time of 1:55.72 was a season best and less than 1/4 of a second behind winner Sebastian Fidelus of Holy Cross. The 1000m race featured two scorers for Williams, Geoff Rodriguez and Dan Waters of the DMR, who finished 5th and 8th respecitvely.
Kosgey had this to say about his performance: "On Thursday Coach Mitchell had asked me whether I was ready to race at the meet the next day, but I was a little hesitant to say 'yes' since I had been down for two days with a flu. I went to the meet with a lot of doubt about my ability to perform well, but I managed to whisper to myself before the race that my race was just a matter of less than two minutes until the finish. I started the race with a lot of composure, faded a little on the 3rd lap, but I pulled out a kick on the last lap and managed to secure 2nd place, having been beaten by only 0.22s. I am looking forward to better performances in the future."
Tomas Kearney '12 continues to perform well and was the lone scorer for Williams in the jumping events. Kearney's triple jump of 13.32 meters was good for 7th best. Although no one scored in throwing events, the team was without promising freshman Rusty Cowher '12. Matt Farley '11, an All-American from last year, continues to improve in hopes of returning to top form.
Fitzgerald put a positive spin on the meet: "The meet as a whole, I think, is a great experience for team and individual confidence building. Being that we were one of the only Division III teams there, it really allowed us to see that our division doesn't set us apart from other Division I and Division II competition. It really adds a certain amount of adrenaline and vigor to everyone there. Whether it be a relay or a solo race, everyone steps up to meet there respective challenges and everyone has a good time. Now when we prepare for other meets such as MIT next week and BU the following week, we already know that we are able to hang with the best and run that way."
