Vikings Compete at First Meet of the Track Season
By: Alice Coughlin
The Vikings competed at the Tiger Indoor Track and Field Invitational at the University of the South. The team departed from a season of cross country where they battled the elements and terrain to a season of track where they will seek to conquer a range of distances around the constant, yet brooding oval track. The men's team raced all nine of their members including Blake Bannister, Chase Babineaux, Lucas Stocks, William Anthony, Chris White, Brandon Davis, Ryan James, Dylan Munsey and Zack Jordan.
Even though the meet was not officially scored, the different events were consistently competetive throughout. Teams in attendance included the host, the University of the South, and the attendees- Emory University, Chattahoochee Tech, Mississippi College, Birmingham-Southern College, Huntingdon College, Bethel University, Ogelthorpe University, Millsaps College, Jacksonville State University and Lee University.
The Vikings participated in two distance events during the meet. The first from the men's team to compete was junior Chris White. White competed in the 3000 meter race with a time of 10:23:25. White placed eighth overall and he was just one second away from his time for the same race at the Tiger Invitational in 2011.
The second event that the Vikings raced was the distance medley relay. The Vikings have a reputation for embracing the competetiveness between the relay teams formed among the team. As per tradition, one relay team is composed of upperclassmen with one team composed of the freshmen and sophomores. Despite the fact that the two Berry relay teams were not in the same heat, they still maintained the rivalry in regards to each team's total time for the relay.
The distance medley relay is a total distance of 4000 meters. However, each of the four relay members tackles a different distance. The first runner completes 1200 meters, the second team member races 400 meters, the next runner runs 800 meters with the final runner completing 1600 meters.
The freshman and sophomore distance medley team raced in the first heat. Freshman Zack Jordan started off the race with the 1200 meter leg, which he completed in 3:37. Then, sophmore Dylan Munsey raced the 400 meters in :58. Following Munsey was sophomore Brandon Davis. Davis ran the 800 meter segment in 2:06. Sophomore Ryan James completed the team's relay by annihilating the 1600 meter leg in 4:42.
The upperclassmen relay raced in the second heat with confidence to challenge the opposing Berry team's time. Senior and captain Blake Bannister began the relay with an impressive time of 3:16 for the 1200 meter segment. Next, junior William Anthony raced the 400 meters in 1:04. Following Anthony was junior Lucas Stocks with a time of 2:20 for the 800 meters. And completing the relay was senior Chase Babineaux who ran 4:54 for the 1600 meter leg.
The freshman and sophomores relay posted a time of 11:27.50 for a fourth place finish and the upperclassmen finished with a total time of 11:34.76 for a fifth place finish. Although the younger team surpassed their leaders, strong performances were exhibited on both teams.
The Vikings have only just begun what is sure to be a season of many breakthroughs and successes. The men's team will compete again on Feb. 10 and 11 at the Vulcan Invitational hosted by Birmingham-Southern College.
-BerryVikings.com-