Men's Track

2008 Outdoor Track Preview

For Immediate Release:
March 28, 2008

RICHMOND, Ind. — Graduation and a variety of injuries face the Earlham College men’s track team as the Quakers begin the outdoor season at the Hanover College Invitational on Saturday.

“We’ve had some strange things happen as well as the more conventional hamstrings and back spasms,” Earlham Head Coach Nick Johnson said of his entire program. “Graduating a few student-athletes from last year’s team has left us depleted as well.”

Leading the graduating class from a year ago is Walker Yane, who earned All-America honors at NCAA Div. III National Championships in the steeplechase.

The injury list for both the men and women’s team is pretty long. “We’re hoping everyone is healthy so we can put together a squad that can improve from week to week,” Johnson said as the team prepares for the Hanover meet that starts at 11:30 a.m. “That’s the most pressing issue right now.”

Senior Mwaura Wambiga (Nairobi, Kenya/Li Po Chun UWC) and first-year Austin Manahan (Orlando, FL/University) were both scheduled to compete in the long and triple jumps during the indoor season. Wambiga suffered an ankle injury, while Manahan was nursing a hamstring problem after the second indoor meet.

On the positive side, the Quakers had sophomore Chris Shaw (Anderson, IN/Pendleton Heights), sophomore Bo Braun (Nutley, NJ/Nutley) and first-year Chad Wertman (Holland, IN/Southridge) earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors during the indoor season.

Shaw finished second in the shot put with a toss of 46’8¾” and Wertman had a distance of 46’2¼” to take third. “I’m expecting some great things from them after their performances during the indoor season,” Johnson said.

Braun finished third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.18. “Bo has come along very well with his training,” Johnson said. “He ran cross country last fall and that has helped with his stamina.”

Sprints

In addition to Braun, sophomore Will Katz (Seattle, WA/Garfield) and first-years Lenden Bowsman (New Castle, IN/New Castle) and Cyrus Dudgeon (Cambridge, MA/Rindge and Latin) will run the sprint races and compete in the short relay events.

Distance

With Yane out of the distance picture for the first time in four seasons, Johnson is hoping for contributions from a large contingent of competitors starting with seniors Mark Boylan (Holliston, MA/Holliston) and Lamont Watson (Philadelphia, PA/University).

The other distance runners are juniors James Haley (Bloomington IN/South) and Eric Holman (North Yarmouth, ME/Greely); sophomores Evan Fackler (Shelby, OH/Plymouth) and John White (Ann Arbor, MI/Huron); first-years Jonah Kreniske (New York, NY/Martin Luther King), Adam Rozich (Eau Claire, WI/Altoona), Andrew Vedder (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) and Nathaniel Welch (Newburyport, MA/Newburyport).

Field Events

Shaw, Wertman, Wambiga and Manahan are the leaders of the field event crew with senior Nick Welsh (Muncie, IN/Wes Del) and junior David Schultz (Wilmette, IL/New Trier Township) also contributing.

Sophomores Ibrahim Abdoulaye Ly (Niamey, Niger/Li Po Chun UWC), Malick Keita (Bamako, Mali/Lycee Francais Liberte) and first-year Ishmail Daoh (Freetown, Sierre Leone/Armand Hammer UWC) will also help in the field events.

After visiting Hanover, the Quakers will participate in the Anderson University Invitational (April 5) and the Indiana Intercollegiate Championships at IUPUI (April 11-12). The Earlham Invitational at Darrell Beane Stadium is set for April 19. The NCAC Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University on May 1-2.

— EC —

Contact:
Don Tincher, sports information director
765/983-1795 — E-Mail Don