This past weekend, the Binghamton track and field team was supposed to find out how good they were going to be when they participated in the Virginia Onesty Invitational and Bucknell Invitational. Instead, they found out how good they can perform in the pouring rain. Coach Mike Thompson described the weather as ‘miserable’ and said that the team simply ‘survived it.’

The atrocious weather at the Virginia Onesty Invitational did not prevent some of the athletes from placing in the meet, though. Sophomore speed demon Kim Williams placed second in the 200-meter dash. Williams was also part of the 4×100 relay team that placed second.

‘The relay team looked good,’ Thompson said. ‘They ran a very good time in pouring rain. They have a very good chance of winning the 4×1 [in the conference championships]. They won the 4×4 indoor. They have the most talent on them at Binghamton.’

On the men’s side, sophomore Jimmy Massar placed sixth in the 400-meter dash, more than a second behind his personal best. His personal best would have won the race, but the weather proved treacherous for all athletes.

In the field events, the Bearcats earned points in the pole vault. Though this has come to be expected, it was a change from the usual proceedings. It was not senior All-American Rory Quiller that placed, but his teammate, Ryan VanHalle. The newly eligible VanHalle took third place in the event, while Quiller no-heighted.

Thompson, who in the past has said that he is not worried about Quiller’s recent drop off, said that Quiller had some really good attempts but kept hitting the bar on the way down.

The big men of the team, the throwers, also showed their faces this weekend. Justin Halleck placed seventh in the hammer throw and Kevin Hall placed sixth in the shot put. They were not the only two to make an impact, though. Sophomore Justin Hidalgo set a new personal record by 15 feet in the hammer throw and is expected to place when the conference championships come around. Junior Ben Babcock was the best of the group in the discus throw.

The long distance runners were at Bucknell, and the highlight was sophomore Katie Radzik, who placed third in the 10,000-meter run. Although the men’s runners did not place, largely due to their competition, Thompson is confident that had they been at the Virginia meet, ‘they would have placed top 10.’

This weekend will be the true test of the squad as they all travel to Bucknell. Pending good weather conditions, we should really know what to expect come the conference championships.