The Yale track team had twice the fun in Boston this weekend, garnering a number of outstanding individual performances at two separate competitions in the city.
Both the men’s and women’s squads competed at the Husky Invitational, hosted by Northeastern University at the Reggie Lewis Center on Friday, as well as the Terrier Classic, hosted by Boston University on Sunday, in primarily indoor track events.
The Terrier Classic, an annual event at BU’s Track and Tennis Center that hosts both collegiate athletes as well as over a dozen unaffiliated track clubs, does not factor into Ivy League team standings. Nonetheless, Bulldog runners have viewed the early-season competition as an opportunity to achieve personal records and set qualifying times at the Terriers’ first-rate facility.
“Boston University has a really nice track, and we wanted to take advantage,” Victor Cheng ’08 said. “It is just a good opportunity to get some qualifying times.”
Cheng, a sprinter, participated in the 4×400 meter team that set an all-time Yale record for a freshmen-only squad at Northeastern on Friday.
Reed Mauser ’05 secured the Bulldog men’s top individual finish at BU, finishing second in the 1K run. The senior finished with a time of 2:27.28, less than 3 seconds behind unaffiliated victor Joel Legare.
“The 2:27 for Reed is a personal record and probably one of the top 25 times in the league this year,” Josh Yelsey ’05 said.
Yelsey, a distance runner, finished 14th in a very formidable field in the mile race that included several Olympians.
Taylor Matthews ’07 was the second of four Elis to place in the top 14 in the 1K, clocking in at fourth with a time of 2:28.92.
A high point of the weekend for the men’s effort was the impressive finishes of some of the relay squads. The 4×800 meter team nabbed second place in the event with a time of 7:45.71, runner-up only to a foursome from Duke. Most noteworthy may have been the Elis’ 4×400 meter crew that took second in a field of 18.
“The highlight by far was the 4×400, with Kevin Alexander [’06], Mike Brown [’06], Shomari Taylor [’06], and Rob deLaski [’06],” Yelsey said. “They all had great splits.”
Alexander, deLaski and Taylor all placed in the top six in the 400-meter dash at Northeastern. Alexander had a powerhouse showing on Friday, finishing fourth in the 400 at 22.23 seconds, then coming in third in the 200-meter dash in 49.62 seconds.
The Bulldog women’s relay teams also found success, with the distance medley relay squad grabbing first place ahead of Boston College in the field of seven at BU. Their 11:35.81 finish was their best time of the young season.
Standout Lindsay Donaldson ’08, coming off a first place finish in the mile at Dartmouth the week before, darted to a fourth place finish in the 3K on Saturday. Donaldson, Yale’s top individual performer, crossed the finish line at 9:18.51.
Joslyn Woodard ’06, last season’s Ivy League long jump champion, kicked off the weekend by competing in two events at the Reggie Lewis Center on Friday. She handily took first place in the long jump, leaping 5.82 meters, and claimed a respectable sixth in the final round of the 55-meter dash. The Eli junior continued her successes the next day at BU, besting her first-place performance at last week’s Ivy competition with a 24.82 finish in the 200-meter dash, good enough for fifth place.
Other highlights from Friday included top three finishes for pole vaulters Molly Lederman ’06 and Ashley Nolet ’07, as well as the Bulldog squad grabbing six of the top 11 spots in the 800-meter dash.
Vanessa Mazandi ’05, whose victory was essential to Yale’s second place finish at the Yale-Dartmouth-Columbia meet last week, also placed fifth in the Terrier Classic’s 800-meter dash.
The Bulldogs face a challenge this weekend when they head to Ithaca to face Army and home team Cornell, winner of last year’s indoor and outdoor Heptagonal Championships.
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