Track team sprints into spring

Elizabeth Pacheco Sports Editor

Since the end of the cross country season, Vassar’s club track team has been training for spring competitions. The team is currently led by James McCowan, the Head Coach for cross country and a Vassar ’99 All-American runner. Without varsity status, the team cannot compete in major meets such as the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships. But the runners have still been given plenty of opportunities to face tough competition, and have had great success in their races this season.

The winter season kicked off in late January at the Wesleyan Invitational Indoor Classic and continued into February with meets at Smith College, the New York Amory, and Wesleyan University. They also participated in the New York Fast Track race. During this indoor season, Laura Coogan ’09 broke school records in the 3K and 5K races. In the 5K at the New York Fast Track meet, she placed 11th out of 20 racers with a time of 18:15:90, while at Smith she clocked a time of 10:50:98 for the 3K. This led her to first place and broke the old indoor record by 12 seconds.

Following the indoor season, the team spent a portion of spring break in Tucson, Ariz., where they camped out at Catalina State Park and competed in the University of Arizona Invitational. Despite the difficult climate adjustment, the team posted solid opening times to build from during the upcoming season. In Tuscon, Coogan and Alex Booth ’09 also participated in the Willie Williams Classic.

Upon returning to Poughkeepsie, the team raced in the Trinity Invitational as well as in a meet at Wesleyan, where Coogan won the 1500-meter with a time of 4:57:92, a personal record and Vassar’s second fastest time. Breaking five minutes “has been a goal of mine for a couple of years now, which I just missed achieving at the end of last year,” said Coogan. “I think I’m going to be focusing more on the 5K now and trying to drop my times in that event. I have a long-term goal of breaking 18 minutes for that event.” Coogan broke the school record for the 3000-meter this season as well, with a time of 10:46:00.

Other standout performances at the same meet included Booth’s near-break of a personal record (a record he would break later in the season), finishing eighth out of 18 runners in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:20:59, and Laura Getts ’10’s 2:32:38 time in the 800-meter, which earned her a fourth place finish out of 14 runners. Getts has been a solid competitor for the Brewers this season along with Kirsten Boreen ’09 and men’s runners Matt Hunter ’08, Chris Lewis ’08, Anthony Lucero ’09, Andrew Utas ’09 and Dan Liebowitz ’10.

In the past, turn-out for the track team has suffered due to a lack of interest and dedication, but this year is much different. “The track team has made leaps and bounds this season,” said Booth. “What has really helped is a strong core of runners committing two to three hours every day to training and race preparation, something the club hasn’t necessarily had in the past.”

Coogan agreed with Booth on the necessity of having a full, solid team. “The strength of our program really depends on the number of people we are able to bring to meets. Lately many of the women have been injured or otherwise unable to attend meets. I hope that soon, more people will be able to run and we can have a full team racing. We have many solid runners and it would be great to see everyone compete.”

Most recently, the team sent runners to the Silfin Track Invitational at Connecticut College, while others stayed on campus for the Jail Break for Home 5K road race. At Connecticut, the men and women’s teams each scored a point (because of Booth’s 1500-meter personal-best run of 4:16:18 and Getts’ 800-meter run of 2:30:10), while at the road race Brewers placed in the top of their age bracket.

Before the school year finishes, the track team will participate in the Founder’s Day Fun Run. Co-sponsored with the cross country team, the event is a three-mile run across campus. The race is open to the entire community, and will begin at 10 a.m. on Founder’s Day, May 5.
by the stage on Ballentine Field.