New London Tube: Coast Guard Academy 800 Meter Race

Each of the three colleges in New London has a sports information director, someone who compiles a story on the results of the school competitions. We'll post these but usually keep them out of the top four spots, so you might miss them unless you subscribe to the newsletter (hint hint).

But although these stories occasionally have a photo provided as well, it's sometimes easy to forget just how hard these athletes are working. This video of the 800 meter race at the 's indoor track race last Saturday is a rather nice illustration of their efforts.

This particular YouTube channel focuses on Clay Russell, the Trinity College student who ultimately takes second. The leader, Cameron Fairbanks of Westfield State University, takes off and never looks back on his way to a 2:00.94 win. But it's a bit of a battle for the places behind him. The Coast Guard pack starts out trailing, but slowly gains ground. For some time, you can see James Martin holding onto second.

Unfortunately for the Bears, Russell has enough gas in the tank for a late push into second place. So does Scott Bockus, another Westfield State runner, who you can see overtake Martin just before the camera cuts away to check out the clock (Russell was 2:03.73, Bockus 2:04.91). Martin ultimately placed fourth in the field of 10 with a time of 2:05.24, followed immediately by teammates Myles McCarthy and Zack Kearney.

Besides Trinity and Westfield State, the Coast Guard also faced Eastern Connecticut State University in this competition, the . The Coast Guard came in second to Westfield State, picking up wins in the 3,000 meter and mile races as well as the 4x400 and 4x800 relays.