Jihad Beauchman ’06 said the men’s track team’s motto is “Go hard or go home.” As the results from this weekend’s meet show, his team did not “go home” any earlier than it had intended.

On Friday, the Bulldogs attended the Boston University-hosted Terrier Classic. In one of the final remaining events before the Ivy League season begins, several Elis broke into the Yale record books. Top performers included thrower John Langhauser ’07 and runners Kevin Alexander ’06 and Pat Dantzer ’06.

The men said they were pleased with their performances.

“We were not as concerned with winning,” Dantzer said. “Our main concern was running our fastest times.”

The meet was not scored by team, so the results do not affect the Elis’ season record. But Dantzer said the athletes’ early-season marks are important for qualifying for later competition.

Participants in the field events performed especially well. Beauchman came in second in the high jump with a jump of 2.03 meters, and close behind was Samuel Fox ’09 with a 1.98-meter jump, good for fifth. Langhauser earned a personal record with his throw of 16.57 meters in the shot put. The mark was good for second this weekend and is the fifth best in school history.

Beauchman and Dantzer both said Langhauser’s performance was a highlight.

The runners also proved strong in Friday’s meet. Beauchman, along with Alexander, Shomari Taylor ’06 and captain Rob deLaski ’06, placed sixth in the 4 x 400-meter relay race. Their time of 3:14.33 is the third best in Yale history.

Beauchman said his performance in the relay was the best he has run and that he was motivated by wanting to catch a University of Massachusetts-Lowell runner who was just ahead of him.

Dan O’Brien ’08 came in third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.70.

Another highlight was Alexander’s performance in the 400-meter dash. With a time of 48.13, Alexander jumped into fourth on Yale’s all-time list.

“He went out hard,” Beauchman said. “That’s how he likes to do it.”

Dantzer ensured that the highlights carried through to the distance events. In the 5,000-meter run, Dantzer placed 10th with a time of 14:20.51. His was the fourth-best time in school history.

Team members said they were excited about Friday’s results. They also said they have a good feeling about the rest of their season, which officially started in December and does not end until the culmination of the spring season in May or June.

“We are strong in areas we weren’t traditionally strong in,” Alexander said.

Alexander also said everyone on the team is doing well, especially the new members, who are getting used to the workouts and adjusting to the schedule. But, ironically, it’s not just the older team members tracking the younger ones.

“I think that the team did very well with strong performances by our senior leaders,” Daniel Levine ’09 said. “As a younger guy on the team, it helps to see guys who’ve been here for a while running well and pulling for you.”

The Bulldogs said they are looking forward to competing this weekend in the Giegengack Invitational, a new event, at their own Coxe Cage.

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