Sagehens approach championship form even as scoring system prevents win

The Pomona-Pitzer men’s track and field team was in action again last Saturday, March 5—this time, in their first SCIAC multi-dual meet of the season at Occidental College in Eagle Rock.

As the sun’s rays pierced with some success through the smoggy L.A. haze, SCIAC competition began to heat up as well to mirror the long-overdue increase in temperature. Many of the Hens’ finest track stars shone brightly as they competed against host Occidental and the University of Redlands (Cal Tech was also at the meet, but the two teams were not scoring against one another this weekend; the other four teams that make up the SCIAC were competing the same day in Claremont).

Although the men’s and women’s teams lost to both Redlands (124-38) and Occidental (108-49), they would have handily beaten Cal Tech. And the losses, though unwelcome, were not entirely surprising: the team didn’t contest six of the 19 events at all, notably all four throwing events and the 3,000 meter steeplechase, which is traditionally a strong event for the men.

The notable performances of a number of athletes stood out, however, and suggest good things for the program for the rest of the season. Indeed, in later-season meets—the SCIAC Championships on April 29th and 30th, and the NCAA Division III Championships on May 26th through 28th—a team’s success is more dependent on especially strong performances by fewer athletes than on sheer numbers. This is because at larger, championship meets with higher levels of competition, fewer points (and thus fewer athletes) are needed to place well as a team.

This shift from an emphasis on quantity toward quality usually benefits the Sagehens—in 2010, for example, the men went 1-6 in dual meets before taking 4th out of eight teams at SCIACs and then at nationals, with only two athletes scoring, beating all but two SCIAC teams and placing 56th overall. More impressively, in 2007 the men’s team took a distant 5th at SCIACs, but went on to place 6th nationally—their highest finish since taking 5th in 1987—due to a pair of national titles in the 1,500 and the 5,000 meters by Will Leer PO ’07.

One of those strong performances came during the field end of things on Saturday, when Pomona senior Mike Grier bounded 12.33 meters (just under 40 and a half feet) to win the triple jump. The distance bettered his top mark from last season by 0.14 meters, and bettered his mark at this meet last season by almost five feet.

Most of the team’s points, though, came on the track, especially in the 400, 1,500, and 5,000. (The fleet-footed group of ruggedly handsome P-P steeplers would likely have racked up quite a few points in that race as well, but put off their steeplechase season debuts for later—today, actually.)

In the 5,000, an Occidental runner opened with a quick first 800 before eventually fading to 5th overall as four Sagehen distance runners pushed on to take the top four spots. Alex Johnson PZ ’13—taking on his first 5,000 on the track ever—won the race in a superb early-season time of 15:31, running alone for the last mile and a half. Anders Crabo PO ’12 closed strongly to finish 2nd in 15:50; he was followed in 3rd and 4th by Charlie Enscoe PO ’11 and Ryan Rosmarin PZ ’14 (also making his 5,000 debut) in times of 16:10 and 16:15.

In the 1500, Pitzer juniors Colin Flynn and Hale Shaw tucked in behind an Occidental junior for the first 800 meters before charging forward together as the pace slowed too much for their liking. Coming off the final curve, Shaw swung out into Lane 2 to challenge his teammate for the win, but Flynn, not wanting to lose to someone who goes to Pitzer (I know, I know), held him off by a mere 0.11 seconds as the two ran 4:05.86 and 4:05.97. Still, the time was a lifetime best for Shaw, and a solid season opener for Flynn.

“Shaw was a strong competitor out there, and I really respect him both as a runner and teammate and as a human being,” Flynn said. The two train together daily.

In the 400, Ryan Meyer PO ’12, Gregory Hook PO ’14, and Zach Feldman PO ’11 ran well to place 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively, in times of 50.13, 51.37, and 51.39. Ryan Meyer’s time would have scored points at last year’s SCIAC Championships, and was a lifetime best for the Pomona junior—a great sign at any point in the season, but especially so in early March.

The men are next in action today, March 11th, again at Occidental. The meet is a combination of a dual meet with Occidental during the day and a “distance carnival” in the evening with runners from myriad schools and clubs around the area. The athletes hope to perform better against their league rivals than last weekend, and also to hit provisional marks to qualify for nationals.

As All-American steepler Anders Crabo PO ’12 stated intrepidly to no one in particular on Saturday evening, “never not ‘provo’ [that is, run a provisional time] at Oxy.” Never not, indeed: Crabo easily hit the standard at this meet last season before going on to “auto” and then place 7th at nationals.

“It’s the P-P way,” he explained before practice on Monday afternoon, kneeling down beside a tree near Strehle track. The P-P way, indeed.

Top Performers

1500 Meter Run Colin Flynn - 1st, 4:05.86 Hale Shaw - 2nd, 4:05.97

5000 Meter Run Alex Johnson - 1st, 15:31.27 Anders Crabo - 2nd, 15:50.40

Triple Jump Michael Grier - 1st, 12.33m