Bright lights, big city.
Perhaps St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., the site of this year's NCAA National Championships, is something less than a bustling metropolis. But for a pair of Tufts jumpers, the commencement of Nationals on Friday offers a first taste of the spotlight as they compete on Div. III indoor track and field's main stage.
Sophomore Dan Marcy, of Middletown, N.Y., and classmate Jeremy Arak, of Ipswich, Mass., are the youngest members of the Jumbos' five-man Nationals squad, which also includes senior tri-captains Matt Lacey and Matt Fortin, and junior Fred Jones.
The older members of the squad have all competed at the Div. III's preeminent meet before. Jones and Fortin both returned from the 2005 Nationals at Illinois Wesleyan with All-American honors in the long jump and the Distance Medley Relay, respectively. And while Lacey has never competed in the indoor championships, he is a veteran of both the cross country and outdoor track and field national arenas.
The experience of the older athletes has helped fuel the success of the sophomores.
"I have one of the best jumpers in Div. III to train with - Fred Jones," Marcy said.
Marcy is ranked 11th out of 13 Nationals-bound triple
jumpers after his leap of 14.27 meters at the Div. III New England Championships on Feb. 18. Arak's qualification mark of 2.03 meters in the high jump, set during the Dartmouth Relays on Jan. 8, is the sixth-best mark in the nation, and ties him with eight of the thirteen other high-jump entrants.
For the pair, the trip to Nationals is a culmination of the potential each showed as freshmen and caps off a stellar 2005-2006 season.
Marcy qualified to triple jump in last year's Div. III New England Championship his first time in a Tufts uniform, nailing the mark in the Husky Classic in December 2004. He ultimately finished 12th in the event at All-New Englands with a 12.85 meter jump, and then set a personal and season-best distance at the 2005 Trinity Last Chance Meet (13.36 meters).
Marcy's best mark last season tied him for 10th in New England, but he never made it past 14 meters.
This season has been a whole different story. Marcy is currently ranked second in the triple jump in the New England region, behind only teammate Jones, and is regularly jumping beyond the 14-meter mark. Subtle adjustments have been a key factor to Marcy's improvements this season.
"I was just able to make key changes in my technique," Marcy said. "Basically, I was able to keep my ankles dorsi-flexed during phase transitions."
At the beginning of the indoor season, Marcy faced an uphill battle for qualification, battling injuries for much of the early season.
"I'm kind of surprised I was able to improve so much," he said. "I was injured for most of the fall, and was not able to run a workout until December."
Arak's 2004-2005 campaign also indicated good things to come in his sophomore season.
In last season's Dartmouth Relays, the same meet at which he set his qualification mark this season, Arak finished fourth with a high jump of 1.88 meters. He continued to improve, ultimately setting a personal best of 1.95 meters in that season's Tufts Invitational III, a leap which placed him on the top-five high jump list in Tufts history.
Arak was ranked fifth in the high jump on the New England performance lists, and also competed in the indoor pentathlon, earning a fifth-place finish at the Div. III New England Championships.
He is now the first-ranked high jumper in New England and has improved his personal best by almost 10 centimeters, a considerable improvement in an event where the victor is often determined by differences of only one or two centimeters.
For Arak, success is in the details.
"I don't generally hit [my personal best of 2.03 meters] in practice," Arak said. "Practice is more for fine-tuning my technique."
As might be expected, Marcy and Arak are on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster going into Minnesota.
"I'm feeling good, but I'm definitely nervous," Arak said. "It's a good kind of nervous though - an anticipation. I can't wait to get out there and have a good day."
Marcy has observed firsthand the potential pitfalls as well as the unanticipated successes that accompany Nationals.
"Last spring I went to outdoor Nationals as a spectator, and I know what can go right and what can go wrong," Marcy said. "I've seen athletes who were considered favorites not do so well, and I've seen other athletes who were overlooked at first have outstanding marks."
In the unpredictable environment that is track and field, each athlete looks for confidence and composure in his own way. Superstitions and rituals go hand-in-hand with athletics, and Marcy and Arak are no exception as they prepare for the trip.
"I just try to relax, clear my head and let my body do what it knows how to do," Arak said.
Marcy is a little more superstitious, always wearing a headband during competition. But no matter where they get their inspiration, the pair is geared up for Nationals and ready to step into the spotlight.
