The heavy rains that washed away a baseball game and reduced the football team’s annual spring game to a 30-minute scrimmage Saturday did not deter Yale’s men’s and women’s track teams.
Running through intermittent downpours and numerous rain delays, the men’s team beat Harvard 101-61 while the women topped their Crimson counterparts 99-64.
The Yale men took home first-place finishes in 12 of the 19 events, while the women won 13 of 19.
Sprinter Russ Kempf ’07 was one of many stars for the Bulldogs. The sophomore garnered top honors in the 100 meters, traversing the water-logged stretch of Dwyer Track in an unusually high 11.23.
“It was pretty bad,” Kempf said. “The times [in the 100 meters] were like a half a second slower. To warm up on time and then have to wait an extra 45 minutes to run it because of a rain delay really messes with your body.”
Thursday, Brandon Giles ’08 predicted a “dominant” performance by Yale in the sprints, and, despite the rain, the Elis followed through. Victor Cheng ’08, Giles, Omari Douglas-Hall ’07 and James Beck ’05 followed Kempf in the 100 meters, with Harvard’s top finisher placing sixth. The 200 meters offered more of the same, while the 4×100 meter relay team topped the Cantabs by a resounding 5.67-second margin. Harvard’s time of 47.52 was just .21 seconds ahead of the Yale women’s relay time.
On the women’s side, Claire Hamilton ’07 (3,000-meter steeplechase), Vanessa Mazandi ’05 (1,500 meters) and Aisha Cort ’05 (100 meters) were among the winners. In the throws, Margo Angelopoulos ’06 and Erica Davis ’07 dominated the shot-put and discus.
Still, the weather remained a factor for the athletes.
“It was pretty disgusting,” said Candace Arthur ’05, who finished fourth in the 100 meters. “You couldn’t see in front of you. The wind was terrible. Things would cling to you as you ran. It was really uncomfortable.”
Pat Dantzer ’06, however, said he was not particularly phased by the weather.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Dantzer said. “I run the steeplechase, so you end up being wet anyway. It was pretty windy out there. The main problem was just warming up and then having a rain delay. You weren’t sure when you’d be running.”
After all the events and rain delays, the drenched Cantabs were left embarrassed by a Yale team which, according to Dantzer, was hardly even trying.
“It’s sort of a down year for them, but it’s always good to beat Harvard,” Dantzer said. “Every year this is their biggest meet. For us it’s the Heps, the Ivy Championships. But for them, they treat this like the Ivy Championships. Either way, it’s always good to send them on a long bus ride home.”
Yale will kick off a very busy weekend on Thursday, travelling to Philadelphia for the storied Penn Relays before returning to New Haven Sunday to host the Yale Spring Invitational.