BLOOMINGTON, IL – The Men's Track & Field team had a very successful weekend, competing at the Keck Ecumenical Meet hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. This meet was a late addition to the schedule as last weekend's trip to Rose Hulman Institute of Technology was cancelled due to inclement weather and driving conditions. The last minute nature of the trip unfortunately prevented some members of the team from traveling, but even with a reduced squad size, the men placed a very excellent 7^th out of 17 scoring teams.   

                Starting the day off on the right foot was the Distance Medley Relay comprised of freshman Chris Hardy (Collierville, TN), sophomore David Thomas (Baton Rouge, LA), freshman Tyler Catterton (Memphis, TN), and junior Evan Nelsen (Greenville, SC). In a race that came down to the final straightaway, Nelsen pulled ahead of the Washington University (St. Louis) anchor leg, sealing the victory by .19 of second for a time of 10:42.05. Nelsen also posted a strong performance in the 800m, crossing the line in 2:00.14 – a very solid time for his first race this season.

                Other highlights in the running events included Kevin Stechler (Westborough, MA) and Greg Palm (Merrimack, NH) qualifying the finals of the 55m dash, in which Stechler ran an impressive 6.66, breaking his previous personal best by .04 seconds. Placing 5^th overall in the 400m dash was senior co-captain Greg Cook (Bellaire, TX), whose time of 51.21 scored valuable team points for the Lynx. Cook was also played a fundamental role in the 4x400m relay squad that placed 4^th out of 24 teams in a time of 3:26.83. Teammates senior Cory Dardenne (Kingwood, TX) and David Thomas both ran well and senior co-captain Anson Purdy (Wesfield, NJ) had a particularly strong leg, passing several runners en route to handing the baton to Cook.          

                The field event performances were highlighted by junior Andrew Maryott (East Dennis, MA) who, despite being seeded 18^th in the shot put, set a personal best by a distance of almost 3 feet, placing 7^th with a very impressive throw of 48'2”. His throw bettered the school record, a record Maryott already owned, by over 4 feet. Sophomore Alex Lippincott (Brookline, MA) also had a successful day, placing 4^th in the high jump with a height of 6'4.75” and 5^th in the long jump with 21'2”. In the triple jump, Cook's distance of 42'7” placed him 6^th out of 15 jumpers and concluding a very successful day for the Lynx field athletes.   

                The Men's Track & Field team looks to continue performing at a high level when they travel to Greencastle, IN the 20^th of February for the DePauw Classic. Look for a full squad to post some very impressive times and marks against some of the best competition in Division III Track & Field.      


RESULTS