Meet Results

NEW LONDON, CT (April 23, 2011) – On a day when inclement weather could have been the only headline of the afternoon, the Vassar College men's track team fought through the rain and got several career best times and a win in the 4 x 800 meter relay Saturday at the Silfen Invitational hosted by Connecticut College. 

A cold wind and steady rain persisted throughout the day, making each race more difficult. However, the Brewers, many of whom competed last night at the Larry Ellis Memorial at Princeton University, still managed to place eighth out of 19 teams. The Brewers placed 8 of 18 teams in the event.

Vassar's most dominating performance came from the 4 x 800 relay team, all but one of whom had raced less than twenty-four hours earlier. That team, composed of senior Jonathan Erickson, junior Zach Williams, sophomore Sam Wagner and junior Justin Rupert, won the race by more than 30 seconds, with a school-record time of 7:55. Head coach James McCowan called it the “crowning race of the day,” and cited the difficulty of running on back-to-back days as good preparation for national meets.

The strongest individual performance of the day came from junior William Healy, who ran the first 10000 meter race of his career, and finished second with a time of 32:53, the second fastest in Vassar history. “It was a very strong run for Will,” said McCowan. “He was very controlled, and it was really exciting to watch. Will has come a long way this season.”

The Brewers also got strong performances in the 5000 meter run from sophomore Roni Teich and junior Evan Russek. Teich finished third overall with a career-best time of 15:45, and Russek was not far behind, finishing eighth overall with a career-best 16:00. “Very impressive runs from them,” offered McCowan. “They took charge of the race from early on, and their result marks the fruition of all the hard work they've been doing. It was very exciting to see it all come together for both of them.”

The short distance races were most strongly affected by the poor weather conditions. Sophomore Mathúe Duhaney led Vassar in sprints, finishing sixth overall in the 100 meter race with a time of 11.72. He also raced the 200 meter, and finished 12th overall with a time of 24:37.