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Yale Men's Track and Field
Season Preview

Expectations run high for the 2007 - 2008 Yale Men's Track and Field team. Coming off of their highest finish since the early 1980's the Bulldogs will look to build upon the successes of the past with the goal of improving their league standings both indoors and outdoors. Enthusiasm is high with the return of 81 of the 92 points scored at the outdoor Ivy Championship last year.

As always the Yale Track and Field team will be a force to be reckoned with in every event discipline. The Yale program has prided itself on turning out solid all-around teams and the 2007 - 2008 season should be no different, with returning Ivy champions in the 100, 110 hurdles and Discus Throw, and a solid corps of returning point scorers in every other event.

Sprints and Hurdles - Over the last fifteen years the sprints and hurdles have been one of the foundations of Bulldog Track and Field success. 2007 - 2008 should prove to be no different from years past as the Elis field one of the strongest sprint and hurdles groups in the Ivy League. Senior Captain Dan O'Brien headlines the group, and looks to defend his Ivy Title in the 110m hurdles, and perhaps add the indoor crown to his resume. Last year he vaulted himself to number two on the Yale all-time hurdles list behind only 2000 Olympian Peter Coghlan '98. O'Brien should also be a factor on both the 4X100m and 4X400m relays, both of which should challenge for the league crown. Sophomore Ted Galligan should provide able backup in the "short hurdles" and will look to build on the success that saw him run to a 4th place finish in the 400h in his rookie campaign. Junior Brandon Giles and Senior Victor Cheng lead a tremendously talented group of sprinters. Giles piled up the accolades as a sophomore, winning his first individual Ivy Title in the 100m in 2007. Cheng was the runner up at 200m as a junior and both athletes will look to add sprint championships to their trophy cases indoors and out. Look for frosh Chris Stanley (an Eli footballer) and Nathan Molina to contribute as well. In 2007, current sophomore Remi Ray, broke the freshman record at 500m and will look to break into the scoring ranks at the Ivy League meet. Look for continued Eli success in both of the sprint relays. Yale has won Ivy Championships in the 4X100 relay in two of the last three years and has produced top teams in the 4X4 as well.

Middle Distance - This group will be lead by seniors Chris Smitson, Tadhg O'Callaghan, and Matt Bordoni. The addition of Sophomore Chris Labosky to this group should make this one of the stronger middle distance squads in the Ivy League. Each of these athletes should be vying for spots in the finals indoors in either the 800 or 1000 and outdoors in either the 800 or 1500. All should contribute to continuing the strong relay tradition that Yale has established over the last ten years.

Distance - Senior Joe Kingsbery and Junior Jake Gallagher look to lead a group of athletes with the talent and depth to challenge what is always a very tough league. Kingsbery was a scorer in the steeplechase at the 2007 outdoor championship and will look improve on that finish in 2008 and perhaps score indoors at 5000m. Gallagher had a tremendous sophomore campaign that culminated in a scoring spot in the 5000m at the Ivy Championship. Indoors he ran his way on to the top 5 all-time list in the event at Yale. Gallagher could also be a major factor in the 1500/Mile, where last year he had a break-through performance while on the team's summer tour in England and Ireland. Look for Juniors Jared Bell and Murat Kayali to make an impact as well. Bell could challenge for the league title in the 1500 / Mile while if Kayali is at his best he can make a major impact at 3000 and 5000m. Sophomore Max Brown had a strong freshman year will look to challenge the league in both the 5000 and 10000m runs.

Jumps - Junior Sam Fox has established himself among the Ivy League's elite high jumpers during his first two campaigns in blue. He has earned scoring places in the last three Ivy Championship meets and will look to win his first championship in 2008. Sophomore Reynolds Holmes will continue to be the Eli's top dog in the horizontal jumps, after a freshman year that saw him garner two bronze medals in the Ivy Championships and All-East Honors outdoors. Holmes also should to contribute as a member of the 4X100m relay. Sophomore Eric Depalo was the Ivy League's top freshman in the pole vault last year and should challenge for the league title in that event. Depalo might also see some time in the high jump. Freshman Steven Paquin was one of the top jumpers in Maryland last year and should contribute as well.

Throws -Since the arrival of Anna Mahon on the Bulldog Coaching Staff four years ago, the Eli program has undergone a renaissance. Last year bulldog throwers accounted for 26 points at the Ivy Championships. 16 of those points return in the form of Juniors Jeff Lachman and Nate Noll. Lachman was the Ivy League champ in the discuss in 2007 in addition to earning all-East honors at the IC4A Championship and scoring a point at the NCAA regional championship. Noll was 3rd in the discus at the Ivy League meet. In addition to the discus look for both to score in the shot put and the weight and hammer throws. Frosh David Smith was the Massachussets State Champ in the Shot Put and will look to fill the shoes of graduated school record holder and former captain, John Langhauser `07. Look for Juniors Jackson Womack and Kevin Hickenbottom to return to the form that saw them both score in the Javelin as freshmen.

Compiled by Yale Track and Field Staff


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Yale Bulldogs Athletics Men's Track