By Bradley Rosenberg

Northeastern blasted the competition at the Greater Boston Championship Saturday with a score of 200.50, 194 points ahead of second place team MIT. The meet, which was held at MIT, was dominated by the Huskies with a total of 9 first place wins and 11 second place finishes.

“They ran extremely, extremely well today,” said coach Sherman Hart. “People are really stepping up.”

Hart believes that one of the major reasons that the Huskies’ had such a decisive championship victory was because of the team’s youth, stating that he “has a young team that’s hungry” and that “the combination of youth and experience is working well.”

As for the next championship, Hart is confident that his men will carry through.

“I feel we’re getting ready for the American East Championships,” he said. “They know that playtime is over.”

Senior sprinter and jumper Michael Jackson, who competed in the long jump at MIT, confirms Hart’s feeling.

“We’re very excited about [the championship],” commented Jackson. “We have some rivals, but, when it’s time to get those championships, we’ll get the job done.”

Jackson also added that his being a senior makes the upcoming meet that much more important for him.

“As you get closer and closer to prime time,” he said, “it gets more and more intense; you get those butterflies in your stomach. As a senior you know that every meet counts.

“I’m confident that [in two weeks] we’ll get the job done,” he added.

As for this week, the “job was done” in an assertive fashion. Senior sprinter and hurdler Bryan McCants won both the 55-meter hurdles and the 400-meters. Freshman pole vaulter Dave Wilkes cleared 15′, placing first in an event where NU also grabbed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Senior weight thrower and team captain Vinny Tortorella posted an automatic NCAA qualifying distance of 70’1″, also shattering the record distance that he formerly held.

This is the third record that Vinny, whom Hart calls “the best thrower in the country,” has broken this season. Tortorella also got second in the shot put.

Other notable performances came from sophomore weight thrower Derek Anderson, who got first in the shot put and third in the weight throw, Bismark Osei, who won the 55 meters, and Idris Payne, who won the 200 meters.

Payne, who has broken two records this season, believes that the meet was a success because, “the meet wasn’t that big. We were the favorites going in; I think the team knew that, so we ran confident.”

That doesn’t mean the meet was without its problems, however.

“The track was a flat track,” says Payne. “It’s hard to run on a flat track because when you’re on the corners you start slipping. It affected the whole team, but people [still] put up some good times. This means that, on a normal track, they’ll run faster. That makes me a lot more confident for the next week.”

Bismark Osei also feels that the team did well in a tough situation, stating that “the track was not very good, but we came and competed, stayed focused, and we did real good.”

Osei feels this is due to the coaches.

“The coaches are doing real good,” he says. “They push us hard and, when it comes to the meet, they leave it to us. I’m happy I’m doing well for them.”

As for the next meet, Osei has a challenge for one of his teammates.

“I’m going to give Idris a battle at the American East Championship,” he says. “I’ll be competing in the same event as him … It’ll be the main event.”

Payne has yet to comment on Osei’s remark.

The American East Championship will take place on February 21 and 22 at Boston University.