Out with the old, and in with the new.

Each year a college sports team loses seniors to graduation but remains hopeful that the returning athletes can step in and fill the vacated roles. The Albion men’s track and field team is no different.

Jerry Krueger, the school’s 400-meter dash record-holder and two-time MIAA champion, graduated in the spring of 2006 along with fellow All-MIAA selection Charles Lott. The graduation of these and other seniors, however, does not leave the team’s ranks depleted. The Britons return three All-MIAA selections in Jason Bowman, Gaylord senior; Matt Gordon, Hillsdale senior; and Nick Kyriakopoulos, Lansing junior [Editor’s note: Kyriakopoulos is a senior writer for The Pleiad].

Kyriakopoulos, the defending MIAA champ in the 100-meter dash, headlines a strong sprinting crew for the Brits. He is joined by juniors Michael Nyika, East Lansing, and Anthony Dunning, Saint Joseph, as the top returning sprinters on the team.

"What we don’t have is quantity," Kyriakopoulos said. "But we do have quality. Every one of our top runners has a legitimate shot at a league title."

Coach Dave Egnatuk concurred.

"We are outstanding individually in the sprints," Egnatuk said.

With such strong talent on the short distance team, according to Egnatuk, the possibilities for the 4x100m and 4x400m relays are numerous and, because of that, the teams have not been set.

"Our goal is to contend for the league title," Egnatuk said. "We have what we feel is a strong team."

Last year, the Brits finished second in the conference to Calvin, piling up a 5-1 dual meet record and laying claim to four individual league titles. This year, they return two of those champs, and others who contended for league titles including Lucas Rider, Bronson junior, and Ahmed Chaudhry, Ann Arbor sophomore, who placed second and third respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles at the MIAA Championships.

"As long as everyone is healthy, we have a deep, strong team of hurdlers," Rider said. "We want to go 1-2 in the MIAA in the 400 and place two in the top five of the 110’s."

The distance team hopes its experience will add to the success of the sprinters. Egnatuk noted that a number of the distance runners are poised to have good seasons.

"Noah Lopez is running real well," Egnatuk said. "He’s been injured the last couple of years, but he’s looking real strong right now."

Along with Lopez, Dearborn senior, the distance crew also boasts juniors Eric Backman, Grosse Point Farms (5000-meter and 10,000-meter runs); Randall Wilcox, Jackson; and Chris McCabe, Allen Park; who is currently out due to a spinal injury.

Losing McCabe in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs will be hard, according to Egnatuk, and Lopez, Zak Silas, Flushing junior, and Douglas Bosin, Bloomfield Hills sophomore, will be counted on to step-up and help fill the gap left by McCabe.

Led by Jason Bowman, Gaylord senior, and Matt Gordon, Hillsdale senior, the field events are just as strong as any other area on the team, according to Egnatuk.

The talented group of throwers includes Gordon; Kyle Robinson, Mulliken senior; Evan Walters, Lainsburg junior; and Brian Leighton, Gobles junior. Robinson is a former MIAA champion and Walters and Leighton are coming off strong showings in last year’s MIAA Championship.

Bowman, a potential All-American, headlines the jumpers, and along with pole-vaulter Dan Coleman, Novi first-year, and high jumper Dave Merigian, Ann Arbor first-year, the jumpers should contribute heavily to the team score at every meet.

"We have some young jumpers, so it will be exciting to see what things they can accomplish this year," Bowman said. "There are four high jumpers, four long jumpers and three triple jumpers, which is the most you can have.

"We want to use that depth to help our team out. As a jumping group, we hope to contribute a lot of points for our team."

The Brits open the MIAA season on April 11 with a tri-meet against Calvin and Tri-State. They’re holding two home meets, April 14 and 21 at the Elkin Isaac Track complex, and the MIAA Championships are May 3-4th at Calvin.

This year, the team will take its 32nd spring trip to Florida to compete in a couple of invitationals and do some training over spring break. The team will compete at the Southern Mississippi Invitational on March 10 and at Louisiana-Lafayette on March 17, before returning to Michigan.