As the cold of winter envelops the campus of Oberlin College, the rubber soles from the shoes of the indoor track team are beginning to leave scorch marks at just the right moment. As the team prepares for the NCAC Championships on March 2 and 3, school records are beginning to break, new winners are emerging and, the biggest surprise of all, one relay is striding their way to a nationals berth.

The girls of winter are the members of the Yeowomen’s Distance Medley Relay (DMR): senior Barrie Newberger and sophomores Nicole Ouellet, Flannery Cerbin and Maddy Davis-Hayes. On Friday, Feb. 9, at Boston University’s Saint Valentine Invitational, the DMR team gave the running world just a little glimpse of what the future holds within the walls of the John W. Heisman Field House. Finishing in 12:06.71, the team dropped 23 seconds from the school record they had set only a few weeks prior. More importantly, they ran the seventh fastest time in the country. This time puts the girls 14.39 seconds underneath the mandatory 12:21.10 standard set by the NCAA for provisional qualification.

This is quite a remarkable feat, especially since the team was formed just a few months ago. “This is the first year we realized what potential we had,” Ouellet stated. Who knows what tricks this quartet of speed has left in their shoes, but one thing is certain: these four are focused on putting forth their best effort for the entire team.

Less than 48 hours after their race in Boston, the DMR team emerged at the All-Ohio Championships, leg-weary and sleep-deprived. The four competed in open events with the intention of trying, as Ouellet explained, “to score as many points as we can for Oberlin.”

While the “DMR four” headlines an unbelievable winter, there are many more bright spots that shine from both the men’s and women’s teams. The two most recent competitions in particular reflect the team’s improvement and hard work throughout the year.

One display of this was the team’s second home meet of the indoor season, the Oberlin College Open. The women finished second with 133 points, only five fewer than winner Thiel College, and the men finished fourth with 64.5 points. This was accomplished without the entire squad, because some were either competing in the DMR or competing at the All-Ohio Championships the next day.

“We were missing middle distance runners, had six new guy sprinters, as well as people just getting back from Winter Term,” said sophomore multi-event competitor Kyle Taljan. Highlighting the event in particular were junior pole-vaulter Deysi Villarreal and junior long jumper Cassius Harris, both of whom won their events.

“Cassius did well in the long jump, and Deysi Villarreal almost broke the school record,” Taljan enthusiastically commented.

Still glowing from her first-ever win, Villarreal, humble in victory, said, “It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had…It kind of felt like winning the championship game. But I couldn’t have done it without my teammates helping me out every step of the way. Oh, and I have to give props to Coach [Sean] Perry as well.”

On Saturday, seven athletes headed to the All-Ohio meet. Davis-Hayes finished second only .87 seconds behind Ohio Wesleyan’s Claire Everhart, who set the mile record with 5:14.22. Also, at Ohio Northern University’s fast track sophomore Ryan King set a new school record in the mile, clocking in at 4:23.09, which was good for sixth place.

Both events were tune-ups and qualifying opportunities for the team heading into the apex of a year’s training, the NCAC meet at Denison University. With ambitions high, the team is starting to perform at a next level.

“We’re all confident for the meet and looking to score some points for our side,” said a positive Villarreal. “We could score in all our events. [The] women’s middle distance could dominate.”

But what does the future hold for a team currently setting records and provisionally qualifying for nationals? According to Taljan, it looks bright. He also acknowledged that the positive atmosphere around the runners has enabled them to perform well. “It’s an environment conducive to setting personal records and making new ones,” he said.

Coach Ray Appenheimer’s team looks to burn some more rubber at Friday’s Greater Cleveland Meet at Baldwin-Wallace and Saturday’s Kent State University Tune-Up before heading to Denison for the NCAC Championships at the start of next month.