The Oberlin College track and field teams traveled to Denison over the weekend to participate in the two-day North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. The men’s team scored four points on the first day with sixth and eighth place finishes in the shot put. Senior Anthony Hudgins threw 44’8 1/2” and first-year Eli Traverse finished with a throw of 43’1 3/4”. Preliminaries were held on Friday and the qualifiers from those races were first-year Cody Hartley in the 55 meter hurdles, sophomore Edo Bedzra in the 55 and 200 meter dashes and sophomore Matt Ferris-Smith in the 800 meter.

On the Yeowomen’s end, sophomore Ariane Burwell and senior Teresa Collins both placed fourth. Collins leaped 33’11” in the triple jump, while Burwell finished the 5000 meter with a time of 18:43.41. This was her season best. On top of this, first-year Bronwen Davies jumped 33’2 1/2” for eighth-place. Qualifiers for the Yeowomen include senior Leslie Bosworth in the 55 meter hurdles, Collins in the 55 and 200 meter and senior Shannon Morris in the 800 meter.

Head Coach Jason Hudson, reflecting on the day, said, “It was a really outstanding first day of competition for us. I was really impressed by the teamwork and the encouragement that both teams brought to the meet.”

In Saturday’s finals, Bedzra certainly made the Yeomen proud by winning the 55 and 200 meter dashes. He ran the 55 meter with a time of 6.57, also a school record, and he ran the 200 meter with a time of 22.62. The Yeomen won 46 points Saturday, placing seventh overall. Senior Mike Pennino placed sixth in the 1500 meter with a personal best of 4:11.54. The distance medley relay team of Pennino, Hartley, junior Dan Keeney and first-year Andrew Higgins finished fourth in 11:06.59.

“Everyone ran really well for the men’s squad, it truly shows how very much the team has improved,” Hudson said. “The team in general put in a great effort and that’s why we got better since last year’s competition.”

Morris led the Yeowomen to success, winning the 800 meter in 2:20.66. On top of this victory, Morris also ran the third leg of Oberlin’s 4x400 meter relay. The other members of the team were senior Leslie Bosworth, first-year Lily Krichels, Morris and Collins. They ran the relay in 4:10.45, a time sufficient to secure them a first-place finish. The Yeowomen finished sixth overall with 55 points, only two points shy of Earlham College’s fourth-place rank.

“Everyone performed outstandingly for the women’s team,” Hudson said. “They really proved themselves as a team, and although we were close to that fourth place, I’m certainly not disappointed with how the women did.”