March 1, 2012
Even if Hamilton wasn’t the fastest team to make it around the loop, they certainly had the most heart while doing it.
“The home track advantage brought our energy levels up and our hard work this season paid off in many performances,” remarked Muriel Schwinn ’13. This past weekend, Hamilton hosted the men’s and women’s 2012 New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) indoor track & field championships in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
On the men’s side, senior distance runner James Grebey was the star of the day, finishing third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:49.26. At less than a second below the Eastern College Athletic Conference cutoff, Grebey qualified for his final shot at the ECAC Division III championships in New York City this weekend. Coming off his strongest cross-country season to date, where he placed top 15 percent at the NCAA Atlantic Regional, Grebey and his coaches hope he can keep his momentum going into championship races and his final races this spring.
Despite Grebey’s success, the absence of state champion runner Sam Reider ’14, who is studying abroad in Washington D.C. this semester, was sorely felt by the Continentals. The men only placed 10th out of 11 teams, accompanied by a seventh place finish by sophomore Will Tifft in the 35-lb. weight.
The women were able to slightly outperform the men, with a seventh place finish overall, due to their teamwork and increased depth. No individuals qualified for ECAC competition, but both of the long-distance relays met the cut, with the 4X800 relay of Sarah Ohanesian ’14, Sarah Boak ’12, Glenn Watkins ’12 and Emily Heckman ’13 cruising into first place, over five seconds ahead of the rest of the pack.
In addition to strong performances from experienced runners, young guns Hannah Lyons ’14 and Tina Choinski ’15 ran great races in their individual long-distance events. In her first NYSCTC championship, Choinski captured fourth in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:11.12. Lyons ran under 11 minutes in her 3,000-meter race for an eighth place finish and also scored points in the 5,000.
According to sprinter Schwinn, “Not many runners have that mental and physical endurance and our team was incredibly proud of her races.”
Even though the indoor season has come to a close, many members of the team still met on Sunday after the meet for their routine lifting sessions. This type of behavior is not just typical occurrence in the gym, but also the locker room, campus and especially meets. Senior captain Glenn Watkins remarked, “The team dynamic is great this year; I seriously don't think there is even 10 meters of the track where there isn't a Hamilton coach or runner cheering teammates on during races and field events.”
The Continentals hope their intense dedication and team unity is what will make the difference for them in the upcoming, more competitive outdoor track & field season.