COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY OFFICE Captain Brian Yates, PC '00, has been a powerful force in shotput and discus.

Young runners and veterans carry track squad

Ask the men's track team about the last time they won a league championship, and some team members will tell you they weren't even alive then. Most wouldn't be able to name an exact year. But with a series of impressive finishes at some of the season's early events, the track team may have its first shot in recent memory at a first place finish. "The last few years, our goal has been to stay out of the cellar," Don Carson, CC '02, said. "This year I think we can place considerably higher."

While the Elis will not face any Ivy competition until they square off with Dartmouth on Fri., Jan. 28 at the Northeastern Invitational, they have fared well in non-league contests, finishing third at the Boston University Invitational on Sat., Dec. 4, and first at the Terrier Cup competition on Fri., Jan. 21. With a string of upcoming league challenges on the horizon, these strong early performances are all the more important. "We've really been able to get a confidence boost from our early success," Captain Brian Yates, PC '00, said. "Now we can set our sights higher going into some of our important league meets."

Building confidence has been particularly important for this Bulldog squad, considering their reliance on younger members of the team. While many varsity squads have depended heavily on juniors and seniors, the Elis' success has come as a result of a combination of strong performances from freshmen and sophomores. "One of the reasons we've struggled in the past has been a lack of depth," Yates said. "With freshmen and sophomores putting points on the board we're a much stronger team."

In addition to strong individual performances all season long from Joe Racine, TD '00, Rashan Clark, ES '00, Ryan Barrows, MC '01, and Yates, younger members such as Carson and Brandon McKay, MC '03, have contributed to the Elis' early success. Even when not finishing first, strong performances from underclassmen have helped in the important team points category. While Jason Rife, SY '01, took second in the 200-meter dash at the BU tournament, McKay and Thomas Hocker, PC '02, finished fifth and sixth respectively, preventing other teams from placing higher. "It's really exciting to see us having a number of runners finish toward the top," Racine said. "It's really encouraging to see the freshmen and sophomores doing so well already at the college level."

M. Track

Recent Results: First place, Terrier Cup. Coming Up: Fri., Jan. 28 at Northeastern Invitational; Sat., Jan. 29 at Terrier Classic, Boston University.

As the Bulldogs prepare for the home stretch of their season, which includes tough meets against Cornell and Bucknell, the traditional Harvard-Yale-Princeton match up, and eventually the Heptagonals to determine the league champion, the squad hopes to send Head Coach Steve Bartold out with one of his finest seasons ever. After two decades at the helm of the men's track team, Bartold will step down after this season and will be replaced by current Assistant Coach Dave Shoehalter. "There's definitely a little extra riding on this season," Yates said.

"The fact that it's [Bartold's] last year is in all of our minds," Barrows added. But despite the Elis' desire to send Bartold out with a championship, it may not be possible. "A championship would be a huge jump from last year," Carson said. "But definitely within the next four years, the program will continue to get stronger and a league championship [will be] more feasible."

Between the Bulldogs and the top spot is a Princeton team that Barrows considers to be consistently strong. "They have huge numbers and they're the team to beat," Barrows said. In addition to the Tigers, Yale will have to worry about a perennially strong Pennsylvania team and the Bulldogs' traditional foe, Harvard. With that in mind, Bartold felt that "our goal this year is to be one of the top three teams in the Ivy League. That is very realistic based on how we've done so far." However, Bartold added that a league title might come as early as next year.

While the Bulldogs will have an opportunity to battle for the league lead over the next month, this squad's greatest success may come in the next few years. "We are still a very young team," McKay said. With such a strong corps of young athletes, the ensuing seasons may enable a mature Yale team to rival Princeton for the top spot. Nevertheless, seniors and freshmen alike are relishing the current success. "This is the most excited I've been about track," Barrows said. "It's the first time we've really been competitive." Echoing a sentiment felt by many seniors, Racine added, "We're really beginning to emerge. I'd love to be around next season to see it continue." Even with all the excitement surrounding the future, Bartold has no regrets about deciding to leave. "It's time to turn the team over to the younger guys," he said. "But I'll still be here cheering."

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