IC4A, Day 1: DMR school record and qualifies for finals!

In one of the more remarkable relay performances in school history, our DMR took down one of the oldest and most storied school records (look at the names on that old record) -- by three seconds! -- and became the first team in school history to qualify for the finals. Wow! This was good stuff. Whenever four relay team members can nail it on the same day, it's magic -- pure magic. That's what these guys did today. It's the reason why this post and the previous post were titled "Day 1" as there is now a "Day 2" with this relay.

The relay started with freshman Brian Henderson. During the week, we set a lofty, aggressive goal time of 3:05 for his leg. He exceeded it by racing to a remarkable 3:04.6 in a fast and packed field. However, what I will always remember from the end of his leg was the handoff to Tim Johnson, who gamely moved from the outside of the track to the inside and made for a seamless handoff. Tim grabbed the stick and went out at a suicidal 22-point split. We all held our breath to see if he could carry it through to the finish. He did, with a 49.1-second split. Tim had never approached sub-50 on a relay or open. Monstrous. Drew Burns continued his masterful progression -- and look at those splits! -- with a tremendous closing lap and a 1:54.9; keep in mind that Drew started the season back in December with 800-meter times and splits north of 2:00 ... so this is simply huge stuff. And Stefan, the quarterback of the relay, brought it home in daring and gutsy style -- going out in 2:02 and hanging on for dear life. Earlier in the week, we all surmised he would need a 4:12 or so for us to have a chance at a school record, and he delivered.

Now, these guys have to rest, rehydrate and regroup for one more run, tomorrow afternoon. Nine teams make it to the final, and we had the eighth time of nine. Eight score. All nine teams are really good; all will be tired, too. It will be tough, but we are incredibly proud to be in the race with a shot at scoring.

Four relay legs. Four guys exceeding expectations. Literally and figuratively, poetry in motion. 

IC4A Championships, Day 1

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Boston University

Distance medley relay

Marist (Brian Henderson 3:04.6, Tim Johnson 49.1, Drew Burns 1:54.9, Stefan Morton 4:12.1) 10:01.03 *school record, old record 10:04.20 by Will Griffin, Colin Frederickson, Tom Lipari, Adam Vess, 2009; advances to finals

Brian Henderson 30, 61 (31), 1:32 (31), 2:03 (31), 2:33 (30), 3:04.6 (31.6)

Tim Johnson: 22.5, 49.1

Drew Burns: 26, 56 (30), 1:26 (30), 1:54.9 (28.9)

Stefan Morton: 28, 59 (29), 1:31 (32), 2:02 (31), 2:34 (34), 3:06 (32), 3:39 (33), 4:12.1 (33.1)