051512 Chicago Maroon by The Chicago Maroon

THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | May 15, 2012

A Stagg-ering performance: South Siders close in on qualifying times at Chicago Penultimate Men’s Track Isaac Stern Sports Contributor On an overcast and rainy day, the Maroons had home field advantage for the last time this season as they competed in the Chicago Penultimate. Instead of the traditional dual or team meet competition, at the Penultimate the South Siders focused on individual athletes getting their personal marks up in order to qualify for Nationals. Despite that, the Maroons still competed well as a team and as individuals. “I think the men’s team did great; I was really happy with the results. [We had] a lot of PRs and season bests,” third-year Demetrios Brizzolara said. With the help of so many personal and season bests, the Maroons put together eight top-three finishes across all events with more than three competitors and placed many more athletes within the top five. Brizzolara topped the list in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.84 seconds. Firstyear Renat Zalov and fourth-year Brian Wille placed first and third respectively in the 800-meter run with times of 1:57.34 and 1:59.09. Third-year Gregor Siegmund placed second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:07.99 while fourth-year Brian Schlick and second-year Samuel Butler took first and third in the 5,000-meter run with times of 15:12.42 and 15:33.39. In throwing events, third-year Conner Ryan posted a 42.94-meter throw in the javelin and fourth-year Daniel Heck threw

51.57m in the shot put. In addition, other athletes were able to reach mark requirements for the North Central Last Chance that takes place this Thursday and Friday. As the season comes to a close, extra opportunities to post high marks can only benefit the team. “It was good to get a [personal record] in the hammer yesterday. I met the standard for the Last Chance meet at North Central, so it allows me to compete in the event one more time,” fourth-year thrower Nick Rockwell said. Rockwell threw 43.11m in the hammer. With only the North Central meet remaining, the Maroons have one more chance to qualify athletes to Nationals. Considering that, despite the poor weather at the Penultimate, the Maroons were able to put up good numbers, some have hopes for strong performances on Friday. “I’m excited to see what we can do, assuming the weather cooperates. I hope we get a few more people into [Nationals], but we’ll see,” Brizzolara said. “A lot of us are close to qualifying ; hopefully we can run well this Friday.” The Maroons have less than two weeks before any qualifiers travel to Claremont, CA for the NCAA DIII National Championship, and the team knows time is running out. “We need to really get after it at the meet this week,” Rockwell said. “It’s the last meet of the season before Nationals so there’s no reason to hold back.”

First-year Andrew Mandato runs in the 4x100 relay at last month’s Chicagolands. COURTESY OF DAVE HILBERT

Sizek’s national top-10 time the highlight of late-week contests Women’s Track Katie Burkhart Sports Staff Women’s track and field competed in its last home meet of the season at the Chicago Penultimate Invitational this past Saturday. While the UAA Conference Championship is the main team focus for the Maroons’ outdoor season, the Penultimate is an opportunity for athletes to explore new events and pursue stronger NCAA rankings individually. However, this new focus on the individual as opposed to team-wide achievements can mean different things for different athletes. “I don’t think we had any spectacular performances [at Penultimate],” fourthyear distance runner and captain Sonia Khan said. “But it’s hard transitioning from emotionally-charged meets where you run for the team score to meets where you run for your own personal bests.” However, some athletes took this individualized focus as an opportunity to reach—or recapture—PRs. First-year Kelly Wood and second-year Luyi Adesanya, for example, both threw lifetime bests in the hammer throw, earning fourth and fifth place with distances of 35.47m and 34m, respectively. Adesanya’s performance, in fact, marked a return to a personal best she had struggled to maintain. “I reached my PR again, which is something I haven’t been able to do for two meets,” she said. “I was happy to be competing back to my original standing again.” Thursday’s Keeler Invitational at North Central College was characterized by a similar combination of lackluster perfor-

mances and notable personal bests. While Khan failed to meet her expectations with a 14th-place finish (37:20.92) in the 10,000-meter, third-year Julia Sizek finished with a time of 36:04.08—a time not only worthy of a second-place finish at the meet, but also an eighth-place ranking in the nation. In addition to being a fantastic time, it was Sizek’s debut performance in the 10k race. “I was definitely surprised that I ran a qualifying time,” Sizek said. “I’ve never thought of myself as a very fast runner, but I guess hard work pays off.” Many of the athletes who competed at Thursday’s meet were rested on Saturday, but several members of Chicago’s usual lineup still went on to secure top rankings. Top point earners included fourthyear Jalessa Akuoko with first- (1:01.18) and second-place (26.99) finishes in the 400-meter and 200-meter, third-year Kayla McDonald with a first-place finish in the 800-meter (2:14.21), and fourth-year high jumper Paige Peltzer with a secondplace jump of 1.58m. Fourth-years Ali Klooster and Maddie Allen secured second-place finishes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (11:47.56) and triple jump (10.83m), respectively, and first-year Reecie Dern continued her streak as one of the top Maroon throwers, securing a third-place finish in the hammer throw (35.94m), and fourthplace in the discus throw (again throwing 35.94m). The Maroons now look forward to next week’s North Central Last Chance as a final opportunity for some of their NCAA hopefuls to put in qualif ying performances.

Richard I. Kaufman DDS & Louis R. Kaufman DDS & Associates Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

We welcome all new and returning students and faculty! Call our office today and find more information about our: • Convenient office hours • Quick appointments between classes • Affordable monthly payment options • Free examinations • Special discounts for University of Chicago students & faculty

PROFESSIONAL HOME WHITENING SYSTEM

Learn how to smile again

Proud member of

Whiten your smile in only 3-minutes

No Pain, No Shot, Perfect Smile that will last over 20 years

Richard I. Kaufman DDS & Louis R. Kaufman DDS & Associates 1525 E. 53rd St., Ste. 734 Chicago, IL 60615 773-643-6006 • 773-493-3340 www.chicagodentistr y.com Before