COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY Track team captain Brian Yates, PC '00, will lead the Elis against Harvard and Princeton this weekend.

Elis run to HYPs undermanned but undaunted

By David Lisson

Most track teams depend on depthÑwhen one runner goes down, another must fill his shoes if the team is going to win. Yale, however, has not had that luxury. The Elis have spent their indoor season undermannedÑand outgunned.

The men's track team suffered what has become an all too familiar fate last weekend, finishing behind Cornell in a three-team meet on Sat., Feb. 5. Despite putting up very impressive individual performances and soundly defeating Bucknell, the team was unable to find the points necessary to defeat the deeper Cornell team. While Yale won eight events, they only placed 13 people in scoring positions, giving up the edge in second and third place points. "We would win events, but they would come in second, third and fourth, nullifying our points," Mike Ambinder, BR '02, said.

"Our good kids ran very well," head coach Steve Bartold saidÑand he's not kidding. Jason Rife, SM '01, put forth a strong performance, winning the 400 and 200-meter races, as well as leading the gold medal 4x400-meter relay. Defending league champion Don Carson, CC '02, broke the 500-meter record. Robert Doyle, DC '01, secured the record in the 3K race. Performances such as these showcased the high level of Yale's individual talent. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs fell short in other events.

Many key athletes were forced to participate in events outside of their specialty. Anthony Thomas, DC '03, an indoor All-American in high school, was able to score in his strong events, the high jump and long jump, as well as stepping up to score in the 55-meter dash. Captain Brian Yates, PC '00, put in a multi-event performance, scoring in the shot put and weight throw, despite lacking experience in practice and competition as a weight thrower.

While the medal performances were impressive multi-disciplinary efforts, it is becoming apparent that the Elis have too much talent invested in too few athletes. Due to multiple injuries, Yale has been unable to field a single athlete in a number of events, including the pole vault. "We are very short in the field events, but we have to work with what we've got," Bartold said. "Unless someone steps up, the same thing will happen next weekend."

M. Track

Recent Results: Won vs. Bucknell, 60.5-48; lost vs. Cornell, 83.5-60.5 at Cornell Coming Up:Sat., Feb. 12 at HYP meet at Harvard

If the coach's predictions come true, the Bulldogs could be in for a difficult weekend at the HYPs on Sat., Feb. 12 in Cambridge. They will have their work cut out for them against Princeton, a perennial league powerhouse that has a balanced team with talented athletes in almost every event. As a result, Yale will have to focus on arch rival Harvard. "Realistically, we hope to stay close to Princeton and pound Harvard," Yates said regarding the team's goals for the meet. "For this meet, the old adage really is trueÑHarvard sucks and Princeton just doesn't matter."

The Bulldogs will look for better overall results at the indoor Heptagonals, the league championship meet on Sat., Feb. 26 and Sun., Feb. 27. With nine teams attending the meet, the Elis hope that since only the top performers from each team will score, this will lessen the burden of being a small team. "We believe that our top guys should be able to compete withÑand beatÑtheir top guys," Ambinder said. At the substantially larger meet, the points for second and third place finishes will be spread out among other teams and the higher level of competition will weed out the points won by default.

That said, the Bulldogs do not want to risk being overconfident. "Heps is a wild meet," Yates said. "You never know what's going to hap- pen and where the points are going to go."

These next two meets represent the zenith of the team's indoor season. After months of training, the taper has begun and the times and distances are slated to improve. The meets up to this point may have been looked at by many around the league as "training meets," and it is the next two which will provide the momentum for the upcoming outdoor season. Though they are looking forward to hosting the Yale Springtime Invitational and the Yale/Harvard meet, the Bulldogs hope to build their confidence now. As in the past, they will need good performances from their top athletes. "We win meets on our quality," Bartold said. While the quality is there, it is the quantity that may hurt their chances of defeating their larger opponents. Even though entering a competition out-gunned certainly is never preferable, the Elis will have to cope with the hand they are dealt. It is their hope that it will be quality, and not quantity, that will lead to a successful performance. Back to Sports...