The Allegheny men’s distance medley relay set a new open record in the North Coast Athletic
Conference this past weekend at the NCAC Relays with a final time of 10:08.66. The Gators
finished 5th overall in the meet.
“Our DMR kind of reminded our team and the rest of the conference that we are a dominant
force,” said Taylor Throckmorton, ’12, who ran the 400m leg of the relay in an impressive 50.5
seconds.
The rest of the distance medley relay consisted of Jeramie Parker, ’11, who ran the 1200m with
a time of 3:07, and Andrew Mahone, ’11’, who completed the 800m in 1:57.8. Tony Dipre, ’11,
ran a 4:12 mile to complete the DMR. The four runners were named NCAC Athletes of the week
for their record-breaking distance medley relay.
“They know where they’re at, and we definitely need to improve, but they had a national
provisional mark for the DMR so that puts them all on the list to go to nationals. We’ll look
to improve that mark and try to get an automatic time at Boston,” said Head Coach Brent
Wilkerson.
The men’s team also posted a strong showing in the 5000m with two top-five finishes. Ryan
Sullivan, ’11, earned fourth place with a time of 15:29.17, with Patrick McLaughlin right behind
him in fifth place at 15:37.05.
Wilkerson also said that the throwers on the team, although freshmen and new to the college
track scene, are also doing very well. However, Throckmorton added that the sprints and
jumping rosters are weak spots for the team as they suffer from small numbers.
“ Regardless of good or bad performance, our group understands that the best racing should
happen at the end of the season,” said Dipre. “ We are good at taking a meet like the NCAC for
what it is: a chance to see where we are at fitness-wise early on in the season.
“ With that being said, I think the performances in races like the 5k and DMR show that our
training is on the right track.”
Despite strong initial performances this season from the distance runners, the team is still
training hard and taking an active role in securing its goals, which include competing for a
national championship.
“ I know I show up to practice everyday and see the throwers working on form or hitting the
weights, the hurdlers doing drills, the sprints group is always doing tough workouts and when we
go to meets, I am eager to see all that work pay off. So we cheer and encourage our teammates
to that goal,” Throckmorton said.
“ Our biggest challenge will be staying focused and confident. We know we have the talent to do
it, its just going to come down to focus and hard work.”