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BY SARAH REYNOLDS

In print | Published February 22, 2007

Garnet indoor track had a strong showing this past weekend at the Keogh Invitational at Haverford College, with six athletes ranking in the top five of their race.

The Garnet men continued to dominate in the 3,000-meter race. Nat Erb-Satullo ’07 finished 13th out of 26 runners with a time of 9:22.97, setting a personal record in this race.

Jon Shoop ’08 also set a personal best in the 3,000 with a time of 8:56.93, which put him fourth in the race and first out of the Division III runners. It also added him to the top 10 Swarthmore times in the 3,000.

Shoop’s time was likely good enough to put him in the fast heat of the Championship race. “One of the goals of this race was to get into to the fast heat because it is harder to score from a slower heat. He set himself up very well,” coach Pete Carroll said.

This weekend Shoop will face Division III Conference foes as opposed to a mix with Division I runners. “It doesn’t make much of a difference running against Division I or Division III because while there are some better runners in D-I, there is also a greater range,” Shoop said.

“The 3,000 is a hot event for us right now with three guys [Ross Weller ’08, Vernon Chaplin ’07 and Shoop] under nine minutes,” Carroll added.

Shoop looks forward to being able to train with Weller and Chaplin now that he’s gotten his time up. “They’ve been training for faster stuff since I was injured from cross country and have just been trying to build up my base,” Shoop said. Shoop had to take three weeks off during the season for chronic shin problems.

Seniors Nick Farrar and Matt Singleton also qualified for the Centennial Conference Championships in their respective events. Farrar ran a 55.20 in the 400-meter race and Singleton pole-vaulted 12 feet to qualify well above the 11-foot requirement.

Connor Darby ’09 also had a strong first 800-meter race of the year, finishing fifth out of 37 runners with a time of 9:22.97.

On the women’s side, the first-years had another great performance. Caitlin O’Neill ’10 and Mariel Feigen ’10 both ran in the top five in the 500-meter race, with respective times of 1:07.68 and 1:08.21 ranking them fourth and fifth.

“They ran solid, but I think both of them are going to run faster, especially outside,” Carroll said.

Their classmate, sprinter Taylor Rhodes ’10, qualified for the Conference Championships with an 8.20 in the 55-meter dash.

Nyika Corbett ‘10 had a strong showing, finishing third out of 19 runners in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 10:56.09. Even though this was her first 3,000 of the season and Corbett ran about 80 percent in her training shoes, this time was enough to put her into the fast lane for the Conference Championships next weekend. She will compete in the mile in addition to the 3,000-meter race.Also in the 3,000-meter women’s race, Bess Ritter ’09 put up a solid 11:08.42 for a sixth place finish.

Kathy Feeney ’09 turned in a time of 5:30.98, just .66 seconds off of her personal best for the mile, which was good enough to place her fifth in the race.

Feeney looks to improve this time in the future, as this meet was one of the few she competed in during the indoor season. Feeney, also a cross-country runner in the fall, didn’t take time off until mid-December, meaning that during break and much of January she was rebuilding her base.

“Since break, it has been easier to get motivated in my workouts because I have my teammates there,” Feeney said.

Just like O’Neill and Feigen, Feeney expects to run better in the spring season. “Mentally, it’s easier to prepare for outdoor meets,” Feeney said. “You get to run outdoors more consistently and the meets are more enjoyable,” she added.

Feeney, a middle distance runner, looks to run the mile, the 800-meter or the Distance Medley Relay in the future. “The good thing about being a middle-distance runner is that you have a lot of variety and don’t get bored with one race,” Feeney said.

This past weekend’s results are a good lead-in to the upcoming meet and coach Carroll’s strategy for the Centennial Conference Championships. While some schools have their stud runners run four or five events, Swarthmore has a different approach.

“We’re going to go in and focus on each person’s strong event as opposed to spreading people thin in too many events. I would rather have success and a medal in their strong event than increase that time just for a couple of points in another race. The team standing will take care of itself if each person runs their strong race,” Carroll said.

The Centennial Conference Championships kick off this Saturday, Feb. 24 at noon and run through Sunday at Haverford.

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