BOSTON – A host of personal records and a school record fell today in yet another successful trip to Boston University for the Yale men's track and field team. First-year sprinter Marcus Woods once again led the way, breaking the school 200m record for the third time in as many meets.
The day began bright and early for Neil Braganza and Liam Garrett, both of whom were running in the unseeded 3000m. Braganza, in the first section, ran a near-perfect race. He worked his way slowly through the field, positioning himself within the front group with 800m to go before kicking away at the bell, closing his last lap in 29 seconds to win the race in 8:30.99 to take 18 seconds off last week's time and eight seconds off his PR. Garrett, running in his second race in college, fought hard to finish 20th in his section.
Braganza said he "felt possessed" during the race, and his performance really set the tone for the rest of the day. In the 800m, Alex Whittaker held his form in the immensely painful final moments to dip over the line in 1:53.98, a new personal record that will put him in contention at the Ivy League Championships in two weeks' time. Training partner Kohl Swift, in just his second race of the season, ran an impressive 1:57.64.
In the 400m, Christopher Colbert built off his promising HYP performance, running a new PR of 48.77 - cutting over half a second off his previous best in the process. Following closely in his quick footsteps was British first-year Harry Grindle, who also broke 50 seconds, running a new PR of 49.77. Both Fergal Burnett-Small and Jonathan Ascher made the most out of their last event on the famous Boston University track: both set season's bests, narrowly missing their PRs. Juma Sei was cruelly tripped as he went through the bell in a blistering 22.7 seconds. Expect the sophomore to use it as motivation in two weeks time.
Next up was the 500m, which the middle distance group used to test their speed and build up their resistance to the lactic acid that they drown in at the end of every race. Cameron Wyman lowered his PR by 0.8 seconds, a huge amount in such a short distance, running 1:05.04 to win his section. Chris Brown produced one of the kicks of the day, eating up the whole field after a frustrating 800m to finish second in his section in 1:06.65, narrowly missing his PR. Swift finished a successful day for the group by running a mature race, utilizing his strength and closing hard, lowering his PR by more than a second in the process to 1:07.52.
Two hundred and 30 of the best sprinters in the country had journeyed to Boston to race on the seemingly magical track in the 200m dash. In the second section, in what is fast becoming a habit, Woods again exploded out of the blocks and stormed around the building. This time it took him just 21.15 seconds to complete the lap: a full 0.18 seconds faster than he went just last week. Woods is the first Bulldog in history to set a school record on three consecutive occasions. He finished second of the 230 athletes. However, Woods is only a product of the dedication and culture of the entire sprint squad. Vincent Vaughns, a key senior leader in the squad, finished ninth with a powerful season's best of 21.53.
Perhaps the most anticipated event of the day – both for the Bulldogs and for the event – was the mile. The first four sections were seeded to break the magical four-minute mark; an feat only one Yalie in history has managed. Nick Dahl, Will Laird and Allen Siegler lined up in the second section knowing they would be going significantly faster than they ever had before – at least for as long as they could hold on. Shoddy pace-making brought the Bulldogs through 800m in 2:02, but Siegler accelerated ahead, dragging the group back to within reach of the mark with 400m to go. At the bell, with Siegler spent from doing all the work, Dahl stormed ahead, kicking hard round the final lap to finish in 4:01.09. Laird ran a smooth, controlled race in the pace and closed strongly in 4:04.42, with Siegler inches behind in 4:04.80. All three ran PRs – indeed, both Dahl and Laird took almost three seconds off of theirs. Though these will surely be some of the most bittersweet times they will ever run; the reality is that the magical mark is within touching distance – and they know they can reach it now.
A few heats later in the mile, Trevor Reinhart continued his senior renaissance, battling hard to a season's best time of 4:06.81 – a full five seconds faster than he ran on the same track a month ago. Similarly, in the evening 3000m Harrison Smith ran a new PR of 8:25.20, a full four seconds faster than he ran at the Terrier Invitational, showing clear progress.
Last up on the track, with only the hardcore fans remaining, was the 5000m. Henry Saul produced the standout performance in the first section of Bulldogs. Running the full 25 laps for the first time, Saul ran his own race, picking the competition off in the final mile and finishing fast to cross the line in 14:46.87. But the real performance of the night came from Cade Brown, who worked wonderfully with Patrick Perry and Stephen Moody for the first 3km of the next section before winding up the pace in the final kilometer, cruising away from the group to break his PR by six seconds, running 14.33.44 and finishing second. No less impressive was Moody, who – like Saul – was running his first 5km race. He looked smooth throughout and dipped over the line in 14.37.94, another PR. Perry continued his return to form, too, shattering his PR by eight seconds with a time of 14:46.68.
In all, the Bulldogs set one school record and 15 personal records. It is fair to say that as they head into their final weeks of training before the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships they should be quietly confident that they are on the right track. Captain Macauley put is succinctly, saying "Today showed our depth across all our event groups. Our guys were running season-bests and pbs all day. Today really gives us confidence moving forward and motivation to finish strong at the league meet."
