The Trail

Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Loewen Logger teammates provide each other with hurdling competition.

It was another successful weekend for the University of Puget Sound track team as they hosted their first home meet of the season. The Loggers faced off against Lewis and Clark and Seattle Pacific University in what was also their first outdoor meet of the year. A significant number of Puget Sound athletes performed well enough to qualify for the conference meet, with Loggers recording first place finishes in almost half the events and setting two meet records this weekend.

Brian Kramer set the meet record in the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.23 meters, almost a full meter longer than the second-place finisher. This qualified him for conference and left him less than a meter shy of the NCAA provisional mark.

AJ Middleton fell just shy of qualifying for nationals in the shot put by besting his own previous meet record, set last year.

"Yeah, I did all right this weekend," Middleton said from in front the Memorial Fieldhouse. "The record was already mine, so it was no big deal for me. Get used to this kind of thing, boy; I'm a PR machine. I'm so strong I could throw this building."

Middleton expressed his faith in the other men's throwers but tempered expectations.

"Man, it's going to be competitive this year. It's still early, and guys all over the conference are putting up good marks. Not as good as my boys, though. Bailey and Bacon both PR'd in the hammer. They're both looking real smooth in their speed suits and throwing it far."

Middleton is really excited about the new addition to the men's throwing squad, freshman Brian Walker.

"This was just his first meet, so he was just getting his feet wet. Man, Brian's so strong he can't control himself yet. He's a gorilla. With some experience he's going to start embarrassing people. He's just too damn strong," Middleton said.

The distance runners are also looking to have a big year, winning both the 3k steeplechase and the 10k this Saturday. Freshman Francis Reynolds qualified for conference in his first collegiate outdoor meet in the 10k, and after running throughout high school he is looking to contribute. After posting a qualifying mark in his first ever 10k, Reynolds was humbly optimistic about the season.

"I was happy with the result. I ran a time that I can hopefully improve on while concentrating on other events, like the 5k and the 1500. I was a little nervous going in, ten thousand meters is a lot of laps. But I had a good time."

Freshman mid-distance runner Anna Danilla gave Reynolds a vote of confidence this weekend, saying, "He's going to conference. No big deal."

She also set a personal record this weekend, in the mile. A new member of the women's track team, Danilla has greatly improved on her mile time this year, thanks in part to input from the other runners.

"Carolyn and Emma and Bonner have all been awesome. As a newbie, it's very encouraging to have them support me. They've all been really positive and a blast to run with," Danilla said.

Hopefully, the Loggers can ride this weekend's success into the Joe Peyton Invitational this Saturday at home. It was a great weekend all around for both the men's and women's teams, and if they can sustain this pace 2007 looks to be a good year for Puget Sound Track and Field.

• Brandon Henry used to compete in the shot put, but decided to stop so he could quit embarrasing people.

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