In Review
MAKING TRACKS: With school records under their belts, steeplechaser Lang (above) and hammer thrower Fonge (below) will represent
Rochester at the NCAA track and field championships in May. (Photo: Adam Fenster)
(Photo: Adam Fenster)It鈥檚 the nature of track and field competition: You always want to run a little faster or throw a little farther.
Yellowjacket seniors Brian Lang 鈥�11 and Yaneve Fonge 鈥�11 are turning that drive into a trip to this spring鈥檚 NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships鈥擫ang in the men鈥檚 steeplechase and Fonge in the women鈥檚 hammer throw.
In 2010, Lang, a statistics major from Baldwinsville, N.Y., placed third at the national meet, becoming the fourth Yellowjacket to earn All-America honors in the event. With the two runners who finished ahead of him now graduated, Lang comes into the 2011 outdoor campaign as one of the favorites to claim a national title.
鈥淚t definitely means I鈥檓 right there,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a competitor for it.鈥�
Fonge, a microbiology and immunology major from Cheshire, Conn., hopes to improve on her 15th place finish last year. The holder of the Yellowjacket record for shot put, Fonge, who was a New York state finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship last fall, didn鈥檛 begin competing until her sophomore year.
鈥淗opefully I鈥檓 on to bigger and better things,鈥� she says. 鈥淐onsistency is the big thing, being focused from the start and knowing that (All-America status) is a possibility.鈥�
Sam Albert 鈥�01, 鈥�02W (MS), director of track and field, says Lang鈥檚 stellar performance at last year鈥檚 national championships should set the senior up for an even better 2011.
鈥淚t鈥檚 given him a lot of confidence going into his senior year,鈥� Albert says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 set some pretty high goals for himself this spring. His performance (at NCAAs last year) confirmed to him that he could compete at that level.鈥�
If the start of the 2011 season was any indication, Lang could be well on his way to achieving that goal. At the University鈥檚 Alumni Track & Field Invitational in April, he smashed the school record in the steeple- chase with a time of 8:56.76, a mark that automatically qualified him for the NCAAs.
That effort spurred Lang to modify his objectives for the season.
鈥淚 would like to show up at nationals knowing that I鈥檝e run faster than any other competitors in the field,鈥� Lang says. 鈥淭hat would give me a nice confidence to really go after my 鈥榩ie in the sky鈥� goal of 8:45.鈥�
Like Lang, Fonge jumped out to a quick start in the 2011 outdoor season. At April鈥檚 Alumni Invite, she won the hammer throw with a mark of 52.47 meters, which provisionally qualified her for NCAAs and fell just shy of hitting the automatic standard.
That followed a stellar performance at the 2011 NCAA indoor championships in March, when she placed second in the nation in the 20-pound weight throw.
Albert says that Fonge will use the lessons from last season to find even more success.
鈥淐oming into her senior year, she really understands what to expect at the NCAA championships,鈥� Albert says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 entrenched herself as one of the best, if not the best, thrower in the region. She鈥檚 getting better and better every week.鈥�