Track hopes to serve up tough meet

Adverse conditions will put runners to test

Runners walking into head coach Tom Mulligan's office know exactly what they are getting into. Mulligan's door is decorated with a picture of Clint Eastwood and a "No Wimps" sign. Weaklings need not apply. The track team will have to be tough this weekend. Oberlin travels to Otterbein College tomorrow to run against some of Ohio's best teams in some of Ohio's worst weather.

Mulligan is certain his team is up to the challenge. "Tough guys run tough races," said Mulligan. Pleased with his coinage, Mulligan repeated the phrase, adding a John Wayne twang. "Tough guys run tough races."

Junior Max Rankenberg is expected to be one of those guys this weekend. Rankenberg, a newcomer to the track team, is slated to run the steeplechase. The steeplechase, described by Mulligan as synthetic cross-country, is a notoriously difficult event. "He has very little experience, but he's been real tough," said assistant coach Tina Chase. "He's had some pretty gutsy workouts."

Oberlin expects to be strong in the distance events. Junior Shannon Fox and sophomore Trista Thornberry will run the 3000-meter. Sophomore Harsha Thirumurthy will race in the 5000-meter for the men's team.

The Yeotrackers also have a powerful field contingent. First-year Gil Seanz is the team's top hurdler. "Gil has been working," Mulligan said. "He's going to be in the hunt when it comes championship time." First-years Jason Cunningham and Caroline Karlshoej will be throwing the disc for Oberlin.

Oberlin sent nine runners to Centre College in Kentucky during Spring Break. "Unfortunately, it wasn't as competitive as we would have liked," said Chase. The meet was not well attended and provided little competition for the Yeotrackers.

"We're taking this next meet very seriously," said Chase. "At this point, every meet needs to be viewed as leading up to conferences."

"We're going down there and it looks like its going to be our first real competition," said Thornberry, "We seem to have a pretty strong team."

If forecasts prove correct, Oberlin will have to contend with inclement weather. Mulligan is hardly worried by the prospect of wintry conditions. "It's probably good for us," said Mulligan. "If you're not tough, you'll have a very poor day. If you're tough, you'll perform well."

Mulligan is hoping to build a team of people willing to run through rain, sleet and snow. "We need to find out who the tough ones are."