SAN DIEGO, Calif.-- The Eph men began their 2010 outdoor season like they ended their 2009 campaign: with a win. The last time the Ephs met as a complete unit on the outdoor track it was to claim victory at the Division III New-England Championships in Springfield, Massachusetts. This time, almost 2,500 miles away, the Ephs ran, threw, and jumped to victory at the Point Loma Nazarene Invitational in sunny San Diego, California. With a unique scoring system in place that allowed seventeen different individuals to score in each event, but no more than two athletes from a single school to score, the Ephs outscored 2nd place host school Point Loma Nazarene 388 to 328.5. NESCAC competitor Middlebury was 3rd with with 319.5 points. The Ephs other NESCAC comrade, Colby, was 8th of 14 teams with 143.5.
Warming up in seventy degree weather was a pleasent anamoly for the Ephs after an indoor season where the outdoor temperatures rarely topped forty. The track at Point Loma Nazarene University was also perched atop beautiful seaside bluffs; if one was not inspired by the tremendous efforts of the competing athletes, the views surely captured one's attention. Brian Cole '11, a native Californian, was one Eph athlete who took advantage of the opportunity to race in excellent conditions. In his opening race, the 1500m, Cole made a huge move on the third lap to take the lead against a very talented field. With just 150m to go, only one athlete had enough energy and speed to pass Cole: teammate Connor Kamm '10, fresh off an All-American indoor season. Kamm and Cole finished 1-2 in 3:53.30 and 3:54.52, respectively. The NCAA provisional standard in the 1500m is 3:54.50, meaning that while Kamm attained the mark Cole fell just 2/100 of a second short. Teammate Josephat Koima '12 finished just behind, running 3:57.96 for 5th place.
In the 800m, Koima would exact a measure of revenge on his Eph teammates. Koima finished 2nd in 1:55.17 behind only Mike Hutton of St. Thomas. Hutton led wire to wire, gapping the field by several strides in the first 200m. Cole was 4th in the 800m in 1:55.38 while Kamm was back in 10th running 1:58.54.
Corey Watts '10 and Scott Rodilitz '13 were the only Eph competitors in a 5000m race in which few athletes were able to run their seed times. Watts ran consistently but never seemed quite able to find that extra gear. His time of 15:24 was 21 seconds faster than teammate Rodilitz. Anthony Raduazo '12 won the 3000m steeplechase in his first ever attempt at the event. While Raduazo's form may have left something to be desired, sheer aerobic strength allowed him to outlast the competition. Raduazo led wire to wire, often pulling ahead in between hurdles. His form did seem to pick up considerably as the race progressed. Raduazo won in 9:30, a full twenty seconds in front of his seed time. That he missed the NCAA-provisional mark by only five seconds in his first ever steeple says volumes about his physical conditioning.
Many of the Eph sprinters were asked to run several events; if no one particular time stands out, keep in mind that many of these guys were running three or four races. Rich Fusco '12 had two strong races in the 200m and 400m (he also ran the 4x400 relay) while Jabulani Blyden '13 was consistent if not overwhelming in the 400m, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles, and 4x400 relay. It should be noted that for both Fusco and Blyden, several of their times earned All New-England and ECAC qualifiers. If the races did not seem overwhelming it is only because the expectations for both athletes are so high.
The single best jump of the day belonged to Steve Rubin '11. Rubin's long jump of 6.55m was .15m farther than his seed and also earned him a 2nd place finish among a talented field. Rubin beat out teammates Tomas Kearney '12 (5th), Ben Atkinson '11 (8th), and Chris Fogler '13 (20th). Kearney would come back to defeat Rubin in the triple jump, finishing 2nd to Rubin's 6th. Of course, Kearney is coming off an indoor season in which he was All-American in the triple jump. Johnny Ray Hinojosa jumped 4.10m in the pole vault to finish 8th.
If Stephen Simalchek '13 failed to show his incredible throwing ability during the indoor season it was because he couldn't compete in his best events. With outdoor season comes two of Simalchek's specialties, the hammer throw and the javelin. On his very first javelin toss of the season, Simalchek earned the NCAA-provisional mark with a throw of 60.51m. While Jeff Perlis '10 called Simalchek's throws "absolutely amazing", Simalchek humbly remarked that it was "a good start." Simalchek also won the hammer throw with a heave of 51.71m, less than a meter shy of his second NCAA-provo of the day. To top things off, Simalchek was the top Eph thrower in the discus, finishing 10th and two places in front of teammate Syvad Young, who also had a strong day in both the shot put and the discus.
Next time the Ephs compete they'll be back in the New England region. The full team will be competing for the first time this outdoor season.
