Pomona-Pitzer Men's Track & Field Opens Season at Home in All Comers Meet
Saturday, February 21 saw come and go the first competition of the spring for the Sagecocks in the form of the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comer's Meet. Administratively, the meet ran so smoothly you might have missed it, were it not for the gutsy performances of the men of PPTF.
Highlights include Raj Bhanvadia's 7 foot improvement in the hammer throw (32..83m), Torrey Olson's 14 second PR in the 3000m (8:57.7), and Wynton Marsalis' strong early season mark in the 800m (2:01.5). But not to be outclassed, John Mering turned in a blazing 9 second PR of 8:33.9 in the 3000m on top of his 4:21.5 mark in the Mile.
But perhaps most impressive was the barrage of strong marks from the freshmen, led (literally) by Colin Flynn's long stride. Flynn recorded a PR of 8:58.5 in the 3000m, leading in a string of freshmen: Hale Shaw (9:12) and Anders Crabo (9:13) among others. Jack Lewis turned in a terrific early season mark in the 110 Hurdles (15.69), and Ryan Myer's 52.2 mark in the 400m looks strong for a season opener. "Our freshmen athletes were the stars of the day. Ryan Myer, Anders Crabo, Colin Flynn, Jack Lewis, and Scott Humbarger all showed tremendous composure in their first collegiate meet," says Coach Boston.
But perhaps the most emotionally galvanizing moment of the day belongs to Patrick Halliday, a first time middle distance runner for the Sagecocks. Halliday had taken the lead of his heat of the 800m coming on to the backstretch and had maintained that lead until about 40m to go when it became apparent that something wasn't working as planned. Halliday collapsed just twenty or so meters from the finish line before pulling himself up and diving again across the line. Halliday came into the race feeling slightly under the weather but still managed to put together a gutsy performance. "It takes a lot of heart to excel at a grueling event like the 800m; today Halliday proved that he has a heart the size of a mammoth," remarked Coach Boston.
