TRACK & FIELD SPRING 2017 / NEWS
From the Associates Dear Alumni and Friends of Yale Track & Field and Cross Country, The Indoor Track & Field Season is over and there is much to be excited about. The men’s team finished 4th at Indoor HEPS and recorded individual first place finishes from junior Paedyn Gomes in the 60mHH, senior MarcAndre Alexandre in the 400m, and senior James Randon in the 3,000m. The quartet of Andre Ivankovic, Greg Moschella, Kyle Macauley and James Randon topped the podium in the DMR as well. The women faced some stiff competition at the Indoor HEPS but seniors Meredith Rizzo and Frances Schmiede both earned second team All-Ivy honors in the 800m and the mile respectively. The women’s season success was not restricted to the perfor-
mances at the Indoor HEPS, as freshman Sydney Holmes set the 60mHH record at ECACs and Frances Schmiede set the mile record in February. That record setting performance earned Schmiede an invitation to the NCAA Division I Championships in College Station, TX. The Yale throwers and runners will be busy this spring as they move to the outdoor season. After completing their spring break training trip in San Diego, they will return home for the Harvard Yale Oxford Cambridge meet in April. Our hosting responsibilities will continue in May as the Dwyer Track will play host to the Outdoor HEPS. We look forward to seeing you this spring. GO BULLDOGS ! Larry Kreider ‘69 & Kim Fulton ‘91
Coaches Corner David Shoehalter, Mark T. Young ‘68 Director of Track & Field and Cross Country
“The Blue is certainly moving in the right direction garnering a total of 14 All-Ivy performers, including 4 Heps championships on the men’s side.” What an exciting indoor season! We wrapped up the indoor year at the NCAA Indoor Championship where Senior Frances Schmiede earned second team All-American honors for the second consecutive year. The Blue is certainly moving in the right direction garnering a total of 14 All-Ivy performers, including 4 Heps championships on the men’s side. Highlights from the women’s season included a record breaking year by Schmiede who bested her own Yale record in the Mile run streaking to a top ten national ranking in 4:34.54. Earlier in the season, she broke the All Time Ivy record at 1000m running to victory in the HYP meet in a time of 2:44.10. Both times are sure to remain on the record boards in Coxe Cage for years to come. Frosh Sydney Holmes burst onto the scene at the ECAC Championship twice running a new school record of 8.71s in the 60 hurdles. Seniors Meredith Rizzo and Emily Waligurski both solidified their spots on All-Time top 10 lists with their performances in the Mile and 1000m respectively. The men seem to have turned a corner with a memorable two days at the Heps at the Armory in New York City. Senior James Randon got us rolling with a wire to wire victory at 3000m, followed closely in second place by classmate Andre Ivancovic. Their combined performance left us in 3rd place after day one of the meet. Day two got started with a flourish as Paedyn Gomes claimed the Heps title in the 60m hurdles and Senior Captain Marc-Andre Alexandre earned his fourth Heps championship in the next event on the track (400m). We looked up at the scoreboard after that event to see “Yale” on the top of the leaderboard over both Cornell and Princeton; Incredible progress for a team that was
seventh in the league last year. We closed the day out with a victory in the Distance Medley Relay (anchored by Randon in a 3:59 solo effort on the 1600m leg), and a second place finish in the 4x4 relay. Our team score of 78 points was the highest since 1990 and our fourth place team finish put us in the top half of the league for the first time since the mid 2000’s. As you all know, there is no rest for the weary in the sports of cross country and track and field. One season bleeds into the next, as this week we depart for our spring training trips. One group of athletes is headed to San Diego while another will be off to Raleigh North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays, where we are hoping to post some early season NCAA qualifying marks. Both trips only happen through your generous contributions to the program. We can’t do it without your engagement and support! Other exciting events ahead this outdoor season include our annual dinner in New York City on March 31st (honoring Olympian Kate Grace and our senior School record holders (Schmiede/Randon/Alexandre ); hosting our friends from Oxford and Cambridge for a continuation of the international series (April 8th); and the Outdoor Heps at Yale on May 6th and 7th. We will have an alumni gathering at the Heps on Saturday May 6th, and will have an alumni tent on the baseball pavilion for the duration of the competition. I look forward to seeing many of you at one or all of these events! Yours in Yale Track and Field, Shoe
Save The Dates Harvard - Yale - Oxford - Cambridge Meet Saturday, April 8
Outdoor HEPS at Yale Saturday and Sunday May 6 & 7 Activities include: Alumni Reception, Coxe Cage - Saturday Evening Alumni Tent, Baseball Pavillion - Saturday and Sunday May 6-7
Become a YTF Mentor! As Alumni, we can be a great resource to current YTF student athletes who desire help writing resumĂŠs, need guidance in choosing a career path, or have other professional development questions. Included below is a link to a brief survey asking you a few questions about your major, year of graduation, career, and your interest in discussing your career choices with a Yale Track & Field athlete. Coach Shoehalter and the staff will connect the appropriate (and willing) alum with that student athlete. At this time we are solely collecting information, but hope to expand our efforts to include mentoring events and a robust career database. We hope you will join our efforts and help the current Bulldogs on their journeys to success!
Link to Mentor Survey: http://bit.ly/2nmkV14
Why Support Yale Track & Field? The YTF Association is responsible for raising approximately 10% of the operating expenses of the program. This includes coaches' salaries, recruiting expenses, training trips, and meet travel. Our goal is to raise $90,000 and to record contributions from 250 individuals. As of March 1, we have received funds from 100 individuals and we are ranked 17th of 18 sport associations in participation by alumni. Please help us do more! Specific examples of some ways your dollars directly impact athletes are below: X-C EXPENSES 4 day Pre-Season camp Day Trip Meet
$10,000 $4,000
INDOOR & OUTDOOR TRACK Home Meet Meal Provision $2,000 Region Overnight Meet Transportation,Lodging, Meals $15,000
Special Hurdle Fund Periodically there are special needs that arise in addition to the usual cost of running the program. In addition to the annual fundraising goal of $90,000, the program is in need of a new set of 100 hurdles and dollies on which to move them. The current hurdles date to the 1980s when the track was first installed. Please consider an additional contribution to this project. Hurdles $339 each x 100 Dolly $449 each x 10 TOTAL (includes shipping)
$33,900 $4,490 $40,000
How to Make a Gift ONLINE:
VISIT GIVING.YALE.EDU
•Click ‘Make a gift now’ •Click ‘Make a Gift or Pledge Payment by Credit Card Now’ •Select ‘New Gift’ •Select ‘Athletics’ •Select ‘XC/Track&Field’ •Complete the rest of the form
MAIL A CHECK Mail a check payable to Yale University, with Yale Track Association in the memo to: PO Box 208216, New Haven, CT 06520 Questions about making a gift? Email: support.athletics@yale.edu or 203-432-1434.