Outdoor track still on top

Volume 109 >> Issue 62 : Tuesday, February 6, 1990

Outdoor track still on top

@ByName:By David Rothstein

The Engineers placed third at the Greater Boston Championships, and then went on to win the New England Division III Championships, setting new meet records for winning score (150 points) and winning margin (Brandeis University was second, with 69).

At the All-New England Championship, MIT placed seventh on the strength of junior Boniface Makatiani's first in the 400 meters and a fourth place earned by the 400-meter relay team of Dave Wright '89, Doug Cornwall '89, Mark Dunzo '91, and Makatiani.

Just as the spring term ended, MIT departed to compete in the NCAA Division III Championships, where it tied Loris College for fifth place.

Junior Bill Singhose scored 7206 points in the decathlon, which gave him the national title and the MIT record, while Scott Deering '89 was third in the hammer throw.

Freshman Mike Piepergerdes placed fifth in the 1500 meters and Makatiani was sixth in the 400.

The 1600-meter relay team of Cornwall, Paul McKenzie '90, Dunzo and Makatiani rounded out MIT's point total with a second-place finish.

Singhose, Deering, Piepergerdes, and the relay team members were all awarded All-America honors for their performances. Makatiani and McKenzie also received honors for their individual performances. McKenzie's eighth-place finish in the intermediate hurdles did not score, but did set an MIT record of 52.95 seconds.

The season ended on a tragic note with the death of McKenzie on June 17. McKenzie, who had been selected as co-captain with Singhose of the 1989-90 indoor squad, was killed in a car accident in Mexico while on shore leave from a Navy base in San Diego.

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