1/29/2010 4:35:53 PM
RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College men’s track team starts season on Saturday as the Quakers compete indoors in the North Coast Athletic Conference Relays at Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
The event starts inside the Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center at 1:30 p.m.
“We have proven field event performers and we are excited about the potential of our sprinters,” Earlham Co-Head Coach Nick Johnson said. “Our distance runners are capable and we look for them to get more involved in the scoring.”
Earlham’s 2009 Most Outstanding performer Chris Shaw and Chad Wertman are the leaders in the field events.
Shaw, who was an All-American in the discus during the 2008 outdoor season, finished third in the shot put at the NCAC Indoor Championships last year. Wertman was the NCAC indoor shot put champ last season with a 50’10” throw.
Bo Braun, who was second in the 400-meter run during the 2008 outdoor season, leads the sprinters. Braun along with L.V. Plummer, who set the Earlham indoor 200-meter dash record last year, Ben Randall and Lenden Bowsman are expected to be a part of the relay teams.
Shaw and Braun are seniors along with Evan Fackler, Nate Garfinkle, Reuben Goldstein, Seth Herr and John White. Wertman, Bowsman, Randall and Cyrus Dudgeon are the juniors on the team.
Plummer, Tamas Csontos, Robert Lugg, Sean McGuire, Joe Molina and Jacob Naegeli are the sophomores in the program.
The first-years on the roster are John Edouassaint, Arlen Faulkner, Logan Goodwin, Eric Parton, Jared Patton, Mark Piacitelli, Eric Steele, Tim Stickel and Tristan Wright.
Earlham has a unique coaching situation this season. Pat Thomas was Earlham’s head coach from 1990–2003, while Johnson was in charge from 2004-2009. Both are now teaming up as co-head coaches. “This is pretty much what we have been doing all along,” said Johnson, who was an assistant under Thomas before taking over the program.
“We know our strengths and enjoy working together in developing our athletes,” added Thomas, who has served as an assistant to Johnson the last six years.
After the NCAC Relays, the Quakers will participate in the Anderson Invitational (Feb. 6), the DePauw Classic (Feb. 20) and the NCAC Indoor Championships (March 5-6) at Denison. Earlham’s outdoor schedule begins with the Hanover Invitational on March 27.