GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland boys’ indoor track team is heading towards the end of the season and members of the team are making tremendous strides.
"The guys have been working hard," said Coach Pete Wachtel.

The team has seen one school record fall this season. The 4x200-meter relay team set a mark this winter.

The team of Jeremy Bend, Yifan Chen, David Slingerland, and Brendan Preville ran a school best time of 1:41.44 to set the record.

Chen has also been impressive in other events. He has been competing well in the triple, long, and high jumps this winter. He also has been running fast.
"He has taken seven seconds off in the 55 meters," Wachtel said of the shortest sprint race. "He is a 10th of a second away from a school record."

Chen has run a 6.6 in the 55-meters this winter.
"He is also three inches away from the indoor record in the triple jump," Wachtel said.

Chen’s best jump is 41.11 this winter.

"Good stuff"

Bend has also had a good season. He has gone over the 19-foot mark in the long jump on several occasions.
"It’s good stuff," Wachtel said. "He has also showed a lot of leadership. He’s helped others develop skills."

Mike Edmonds is competing on the indoor team for the first time. He has been on the outdoor team.
"His best in the high jump has been 5-10," Wachtel said. "He should get over six feet by the end of the season."

Distance runners have been a strength for the Dutchmen this season.
"Distance-wise, one of the people I have been impressed with is Kevin Sheehan," Wachtel said. "He has run various distances and times well this year. Roland Graves is the steady guy for us. He still has goals he wants to obtain."

Justin Velhuis has also been a good distance runner for the Dutch this season.

A pair of hurdlers have done well, too.

Junior Ian Tapler made the semifinals at the Yale Invitational with a time of 8.44 this season.
"He’ll go faster by the end of the season," Wachtel said.

Dan Japiaikse, a freshman, has come along well this winter.
"He’s done really well," Wachtel said. "We’ll see a lot of him."

Wachtel has had a small team this season. There are 11 seniors on the team and six or seven freshmen, Wachtel said.
"It’s really, really been fun to coach," Wachtel said. "Instead of a numbers game, I have been able to work with individuals and on each event."

Despite having fewer athletes on the team, Wachtel has been impressed with what they have done.
"If you look at the numbers and what we have done this year," Wachtel said, "we’ve done very well. We’ve haven’t done well in the bigger meets because of the numbers and not because kids are not doing well. We have a nucleus of kids scoring and learning how to get in there."