Young Sprints Aim to Match Long Distance Team's Success

(12/1/2004)

By Kristy Cunningham
Daily Editorial Board

The sprinters on the men's track team often fall into the shadow of their highly successful distance-running teammates. Though they do not boast cross-country nationals appearances or All American runners, this young unit is on its way up in the NESCAC.

"Our sprinters are up and coming," sophomore LeQuan Hunter said. "We are definitely trying to get on the level of our distance runners and we are finally starting to get there. We have the tools and should do some good things this year."

The sprinters will be led this winter indoor season by several returning juniors and one senior hurdler. Junior Trevor Williams will run the 200- and 400-meter events, while classmate Pat Mahoney will contribute in the longer sprints after he returns from his semester abroad in January.

"Williams is in awesome shape right now," Hunter said. "We're going to look to him to do quite a bit of damage. Mahoney has quite a bit of range and will definitely help the squad out if he's in shape."

Senior hurdler Nate Thompson was the ECAC runner up in the 55-meter hurdles last season and will likely contribute again this year in the short distance hurdles. He will join sophomores Jamil Ludd and Dave McCleary in the hurdling events.

"Ludd is very versatile, he can run anything from the 55 up to the 400. We won't be shocked if he does some really good things," Hunter said.

Several new freshmen and returning sophomores like Hunter and Nehemiah Green will likely play substantial roles on relay teams and in individual events.

"Nathan Scott is a new freshman who looks really smooth so far," Hunter said. "Green and I are healthy this year and we expect to get going. We also have a good amount of freshmen who are showing a lot of promise right now."

One notable sprinter absent from this year's roster is senior Ray Carre. Last year as a junior, Carre won the 600 in the New England Championships with a school record time of 1:22 flat. Carre also anchored the 4x400 relay team. He and his teammates, Mahoney, Williams and sophomore Nate Cleveland, put up a 3:19.90 time at New England's last season, good for 17th in the country. The reason behind Carre's departure from the team remains undisclosed at this time.

With youth as its primary feature, the sprinters will look for much-needed experience heading into winter break. The beginning of the season is often used to fine-tune running technique and get back in shape in preparation for the rest of the winter.

"We have a good solid group of guys, everyone is very devoted," Hunter said. "Practice is going smoothly so far and our first meet this Saturday is just to see where people are at. The real competitive season begins in January. Before that, we're just getting the kinks out and seeing what we need to do. I feel pretty positive about our team so far."