On Saturday February 8, 2003, the Rensselaer indoor track and field team competed in their fifth meet of the season at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Among the other teams competing were Dartmouth, UMass-Amherst, Umass-Lowell, Williams, Keene State, and Colby-Sawyer. With the strong competition at the meet, many Rensselaer athletes achieved personal records and season’s bests performances.
A new school record was set in the women’s 1600 m relay when the team of sophomores Becky Lock, Michelle Fisher, Alysia Evanitsky, and junior Alyssa Coffey ran a time of 4:14.71. The group also performed very well in their individual events. Coffey set a new school record in the 800 m run with a time of 2:22.57. Season’s bests were achieved by Evanitsky in the 500 m with a time of 1:22.04 earning her sixth place overall, Fisher with a 1:26.49 in the 500 m, and Becky Lock in the 400 m with her time of 1:02.25. In the field, the Rensselaer women’s pole vaulters continued to excel. Allison Benson and Jess Pearson each placed in the top six, while season’s bests were achieved by Cara Rosato and Corey Atwell, who both jumped 9’ 0.25”.
On the men’s side, first place finishes were achieved by junior Dwaine Alleyne in the triple jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 14.20 m (46’7.25”) and by Mike Johnson in the weight throw with a mark of 15.24 m (50’). Johnson, a senior, was recently named UCAA athlete of the week for winning the weight throw in last week’s meet at West Point with the mark of 15.55 m (51’.25”). Other athletes in the field events performed their season’s bests, including freshman Eugene Kolankowsky with 12’ in the pole vault and graduate student Nate Doyle with 14.81 m (48’7.25”) in the shot put.
In the track events, the men’s distance medley relay team of seniors Keith Weiss, Max Zujewski, Jeff Greer, and David Hurtado ran 10:50.05, earning second place. Outstanding individual performances for the RPI men on the track included senior Mike Winnick’s 2:32.61, third place finish in the 1000 and sophomore Joe Otto’s 1:56.71, third place finish in the 800. In addition, the men’s 1600 m relay team of sophomore Trevor Tersmette, senior Paul Salasznyk, grad Jeff Banks, and Otto ran 3:30.50, good for fourth place overall and another season’s best.
The past meet brought many exciting improvements for the team and the hope to continue their success as they prepare for the UCAA Indoor Track Championships this weekend at Hamilton College.
