With a new facility, the Boston University men’s and women’s track teams and their opponents have been enjoying holding their very own facility records for the last month. After this weekend’s Terrier Invitational, most of them will have no such pleasure any more.
‘The times set in this facility this weekend would rival most tracks in the country,’ said BU distance coach Bruce Lehane. ‘Hosting major events like this is a big part of our program.’
On the men’s side, one of the most impressive performances was not by a current Terrier, but by BU alum Matt Smith. Smith won the 5000-meter race, missing the 14-minute mark by only 3.8 seconds. Spectators were also amazed with the performance of Ethiopian runner Markos Geneti, who ran a 7:52.17 3000-meter race, winning easily.
Lehane called Geneti’s mark ‘superior to any we had in the old armory.’
The track also saw some impressive times put up by the Terrier men. Senior captain Matt Adler put up his typical solid performance, running the 400 in 48.72 to take 11th overall in the highly competitive meet. Senior Liam Revell put up a personal best time in the mile, crossing at 4:11.8 to take 12th overall. The Terrier 4×400 relay team, consisting of seniors Chris Brandon and Steve Deppe, sophomore Andre Nacaxe and freshman Lucjan Zaborowski, was again outstanding, taking fourth with a time of 3:15.39.
‘I think the 4×400 was probably the best performance,’ Lehane said. ‘Liam also ran pretty effectively.’
Other standout Terriers included senior Rob Wong in the 5000 meter, junior Jochen Dieckfoss in the 3000, and senior Mike Coronado in the shot put.
For the women, the weekend was just as successful for the Terriers and those they hosted. Senior Lauren Warman was the highlight of the day for the BU women, winning the 500 meters by more than three seconds in 1:12.51.
‘Lauren had an incredible day,’ said BU women’s coach Lesley Lehane. ‘That is really fast this time of year. This meet attracts some of the best schools in the east, and for her to beat all those athletes was outstanding.’
Natalie Grant, who will be throwing for the Terriers in the outdoor track season this year, posted a great performance in the weight throw, heaving it 18.6 meters for the win. Junior Mary Ellen Bingham also had a good day in the jumps, taking fourth in the triple jump by leaping 11.47 meters. Andrea Stuermer was again extremely competitive, coming in fifth in the pole vault at 3.7 meters.
‘I thought that they had a good day,’ Lesley Lehane said. ‘We’re still improving. We have a couple more weeks before the conference championships, so we have a couple more meets to improve.’
Running against such high-level competition certainly helps, however. The Terrier women ran alongside the top two runners in the world junior championships in the 5000, Ethiopians Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba. They finished first and second in the race, both crossing in under 15:41. Irish Olympian Sinead Evans won the 3000 at 9:12.67, and Providence College’s Roisin McGettigan ran a 4:40 in the mile, a time that would rival any collegiate athlete in the nation this time of year.
‘The meet itself was extremely successful in terms of the facility,’ Bruce Lehane said. ‘The competitive athletes really enjoyed it. This was the first major event at the site, and in the next few years the popularity of running at BU will grow.’
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