Boston, MA — For a few hours on February 14th, intimates and sweethearts of the men of orange briefly yielded primacy to another passion as the CPTC men toed the line at Boston University’s Valentine Invitational. With finishing times between 1st and 6th often separated by three or four seconds in events as long as the 3k, and tactical positioning that sometimes resembled fast-track speed skating more than a track meet, the CPTC men showed their steel and grit with no loss of elegance, coming home with PRs and high marks.

Setting a positive tone for the day, Central Park’s número uno in the throws, John Langhauser, putted 17.63 m, taking 4th for the event. This was followed by the men’s mile, where Brian Gertzen rolled a 4:13.46 and Scott Kallgren crossed the line in 4:16.53 in a battle royale with a former teammate, both season PRs and putting Scott in the top 10 for Central Park all-time. Bill Wells finished off the event the event for the club with some hard digging and keen finishing speed in a PR of 4:29.92.

Moving to the 1k, Andrew “Bons” Bonventure ran silk smooth, walking away pleased from the finish line with a PR of 2:33.28. In the same heat, a young hope of Central Park, John Pollina, gutted out a PR of 2:36.48.  In the half-mile, Birger Ohlsson, Will Seidel, and Sam Mackenzie finished in 1:56.2, 1:56.8, and 1:58.3, respectively.  Mackenzie, off limited training, sat back for much of his race before he gunned the last lap hard, taking 2nd in his heat.

Peter Derby gripped it and ripped it in the 3k. Taking the lead after a slow start and some tactical elbows, he successfully spread the field before being roped late in the race.  While many would’ve sat back at the loss of a hard- fought lead, justifying inaction with tactics, Derby reached down to take the lead again before paying the price for forcing a race out of his timorous competition and picking up a season PR in 8:55.57.

Easily with the performance of the night, Jay Barry began his 3k, ironically, with seeming indifference. Letting the leaders go but deftly moving through those falling off the pace, he kept his eyes up and in contact. With two and a half laps to go Jay later said he realized he had a shot at the win. Sure enough, at about 300 to go he was in position and did not hesitate to turn on the afterburners, as he significantly gapped the failing 2nd and finished in an almost five-second PR of 8:59.11. While one may rightfully suspect good training and internal fortitude provided such a performance, the auspicious presence of one Ms. Aileen Conlon as witness and split timer to Jay’s race on the infield could not help be noticed: maybe a restoration to the common spirit of the day.