MAAC meet: Quimes' crazy trifecta

Inside the numbers of the MAAC meet: For those alert blog followers out there keeping score at home, you may note that senior captain Arquimedes DelaCruz did the three longest distance races at the Championships. In order, he ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the 10,000-meter run, and the 5,000-meter run. It was a brutal challenge, one that Quimes relished. Being an ever cautious old coach, I was wary of this idea. So I cut a deal only Quimes could live with, and with which he could be motivated: I said, break your school record in the steeple, and I'll let you do the other two races. No record, we scratch you from the rest of the meet.

Of course, he broke the school record (barely, but he did it), and the challenge was on. After the steeple, Quimes had only the women's 10,000-meter race to recover. Fortunately, the tactical ladies race was about as exciting as counting the blades of grass on the infield of the Rider track, so he had a few extra minutes to lick his wounds. After the brutally tactical men's race, in which his steeple weary legs had to shift gears, I thought he would be toast for the 5,000 on Sunday.

Nope. I was wrong. As I was sipping my coffee at the free hotel breakfast, Quimes bounded down the stairs and declared himself ready for battle. And battle he did. Check out his last 200 meters. His finish sprint in person was eye-popping, especially considering all the running he had done. Although he just missed scoring in both the 10k and 5k, he earned the respect of one and all -- teammates (well, a little scorn and ridicule from them, too), opponents, coaches. It was a brutal challenge -- 18,000 meters of hard racing, with barriers and water jumps to start!

Was this a good idea? Very good question. After his school record steeple time on Saturday afternoon, Quimes stood at 41st on the East Regional list. The top 48 are guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Regionals later this month in North Carolina. It appeared that 2013 would be a weaker than normal year in the steeple and that his 9:05.71 mark would punch him a ticket to Greensboro. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a weak year became quite strong on Sunday, all across conference championships and elsewhere, and Quimes tumbled 10 spots on the list. What does this mean? It means that our leg-weary GOAT will have to dial it up one more time in the steeple, Friday night at IC4As, in order to improve his spot on the list. Oh boy. You had to see him walking around today to realize what an issue this might be. This week calls for lots of ice and lots of rest, and maybe a few light hurdle drills. Can he do it? Was that MAAC triple a smart thing? Who knows. Time will tell. One thing's for sure: No one can question his ambition and desire to help the team, deal with discomfort and take on seemingly insurmountable challenges. For the record, once more:

Quimes' crazy triple

3,000-meter steeplechase, Saturday afternoon

2-Arquimedes DelaCruz 9:05.71 *school record, IC4A qualifier

73, 2:29 (76), 3:46 (77), 5:04 (78), 6:22 (78), 7:41 (79), 8:56 (75), 9:05.71 (9.71)

10,000-meter run, Saturday afternoon

7-Arquimedes DelaCruz 32:14.98

76, 2:31 (75), 3:47 (76), 5:05 (78)

6:22 (77), 7:40 (78), 8:59 (79), 10:17 (78)

11:32 (75), 12:52 (80), 14:11 (79), 15:29 (78)

16:49 (80), 18:10 (81), 19:31 (81), 20:52 (81)

22:13 (81), 23:34 (81), 24:53 (79), 26:07 (74)

27:21 (74), 28:35 (74), 29:49 (74), 31:04 (75)

32:14.98 (70.98)

5km: 16:09; Second 5km: 16:05.98

5,000-meter run, Sunday afternoon

7-Arquimedes DelaCruz 15:04.59

69, 2:22 (73), 3:32 (70), 4:42 (70)

5:55 (73), 7:05 (70), 8:18 (73, 9:32 (74)

10:48 (76), 12:04 (76), 13:20 (76), 14:32 (72)

15:04.59 (32.59)