Singular Sprinter
Freshman McCants leads the men's track team
By Paul Perillo
To say that Bryan McCants is a highly talented track
star with Olympic potential would be true, but it wouldn't even begin to
tell the whole story.
The eighteen-year-old freshman from Rego Park, New York, offers much
more than his considerable skills to the men's track team. His performances
during the indoor season in various events made McCants a mainstay around
the oval at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, but it's his style
and personality that really make him stand out.
McCants has created a stir around Huntington Avenue with his trademark
bagpipe playing. He is a regular at N.U. hockey and basketball games, where
he gets the fans riled up with his rendition of "Mason's Apron."
On the track, McCants is equally eye-opening. He finished first or second
in five different events during the winter season, including the 55- and
60-meter hurdles, 200 meters, 400 meters, and 500 meters. In the opening
meet of the outdoor season on April 1, McCants took first place in the
400-meter hurdles at the Maryland Invitational with a personal best of
52.56.
"He's totally brought a new attitude to the men's program,"
says Sherman Hart, who is in his second season as the head coach of the
entire track program, after eleven years in charge of the women's team.
"There were times I thought the men didn't know how to win last year.
Bryan is someone who gets everyone's juices flowing and he has that arrogance
that I love."
McCants's story doesn't end there. While he has legitimate hopes of
competing in the Olympics someday, he also intends to devote much of his
postathletic life to special education. McCants plans to be a teacher or
child psychologist working with children with special needs.
"It makes me happy and I want to give back whatever I can,"
says McCants, who has worked at special-ed camps for the past five years.
"I came to Northeastern because of its special education program and
I've been very impressed with it. I would also like to find time to be
a track coach once I'm done competing."
While the school has made an impact on McCants, his father, Frank, was
impressed with Hart. When Hart made a recruiting trip to New York last
winter, he wasn't the first to offer McCants a scholarship. But he was
the first, and only, to make a personal visit to the McCants household.
"That really impressed my father," McCants says. "He
has the same attitude and he perceives things the same way as my father.
They both want whatever you can give and they realize that's all you have.
I love running for Sherman because he makes me feel like I'm running for
more than just myself."
Says Hart: "His father and I hit it off immediately. We talked
more about education than track and I felt we had a great rapport right
away."
After winning the America East indoor title, Hart has his sights set
on bigger and better things for the outdoor season. The conference championships
are scheduled for May 6 and the New England regionals for the following
weekend at Storrs, Connecticut. Hart hopes his men's team can avenge a
second-place finish to the University of Connecticut at last year's New
Englands.
He has plenty of firepower to get the job done. Dave Klemic and Andy
Alsup, who double as wide receivers for Barry Gallup's football team in
the fall, return with their blazing speed and athleticism. Klemic posted
outdoor conference bests in the 200 (21.92) and the long jump (24'5.25)
and Alsup won the 200 and 400 as a freshman two years ago.
Seniors Bing Guerin, Rudy Morando, and Adam Carpenter and sophomore
Wes Shaw are also key performers. Carpenter holds the conference record
in the triple jump (48'9.5), Guerin is tops in the 1,500 (3:49.77), and
Shaw is among the league's elite in the pole vault, with a personal best
of 16'8".
"We have a much stronger team for the outdoor season than we had
in the winter," Hart says. "I'm very excited about this team.
They've really taken to my philosophy and gotten more emotional about our
jobs. We had a meeting during the winter season that the football team
would have been impressed with as far as intensity goes.
"We have a perfect opportunity to go down to Storrs and go right
after [Connecticut] after coming so close in the New Englands. I would
like to see us improve on our IC4A performance [thirty-first in indoor]
and I'm looking forward to having both the men and women together for the
first time. Both meets are being held at Princeton, so it gives us a chance
to have everybody on the same page. It should be a big lift for us."
Optimism Growing for Men's Crew
Last season was disappointing for the men's crew, which finished sixth
at the Eastern Sprints and eleventh at the IRA Championships. This year's
squad is very thin and lacks experience.
So why is Buzz Congram so happy?
It's what happened during the off-season that has the longtime coach
optimistic. The team put together one of the most impressive performances
ever of a Husky crew during the winter ergometer training sessions. "We're
going to be a very good crew," says Congram, who entered his twenty-third
season as head coach in April. "The attitude has been terrific. The
guys have established a great culture together and are totally committed
to being as good as they can be."
The winter training session took place in Tampa, Florida, over ten days.
"It was the most productive winter trip I can remember," Congram
says. "We got our workouts in in the morning and then had four or
five hours to rest before heading back out in the afternoon. We had some
great water to row in and it was endless. We have only one senior, but
we're still rowing very well."
The lone senior among the starting eight is captain Gracio Garcia. The
native of Brazil occupies the number three seat in the boat, his third
as part of the varsity crew. The most talented member of the boat is junior
Dan Walsh, who mans the number six spot. He was named Outstanding Oarsman
last year when he finished in the stroke seat. Walsh has been part of U.S.
elite camps in the past.
This year's stroke seat is manned by Yugoslavian Veljko Culafic. Andrew
Wieler is Culafic's partner in the number seven seat. The remainder of
the varsity boat is occupied by sophomores Jim Risko (number five), Austin
Eichelberger (number four), and Brent Carpenter (number two) and junior
Dan Cahill (bow). The starting eight average six feet, five inches and
205 pounds. Junior coxswain Brian Gallagher runs the show.
"Brian has really done a nice job for us in a pivotal position,"
Congram says. "We've been much better technically than last year.
It's important for us to take every race seriously and gain confidence.
We have the ability. We just have to prove it to ourselves."
Congram's sights are set on the May 21 Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond
in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the IRA Championships June 13 on
the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey. Recalling the glory years of his
program-1988 and 1991, when the Huskies finished second at the IRAs, and
1996, when an undefeated season was spoiled when it was found that the
team had used an ineligible rower-Congram believes this team is capable
of competing at that level.
"This is a much faster boat than last year," Congram says.
"Ever since the fall, I realized this boat had a lot of horsepower
and thought we had a lot of potential. The key to our success is that we
row better than last year. We're a competitive bunch from top to bottom
and I'm very pleased with the effort.
"This team is capable of doing some very nice things. We're looking
to bounce back at the Eastern Sprints this year and we expect to be among
those six boats competing [in the finals] at the IRAs."
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