On Sunday April 3rd, the Mammoths travelled across town to compete at their first full team outdoor track and field meet of the season at the UMass Invitational, hosted by UMass Amherst. Amherst College was the only Division III team in the six-team field and competed well! The day was highlighted by three school records - Bethany Martin in the hammer throw, Anna Madden in the 400 meters and Jordan Hecker in the pole vault!
Troy Colleran throwing the javelin
The first event of the day was the women’s hammer throw, and Bethany Martin got the day started with a bang, breaking the school record with a throw of 42.37 meters (140’ 2”) on her fourth attempt, also a personal best throw for the sophomore! Jack Renda enjoyed a strong day in the hammer, throwing well in his first time ever competing in the event and placed 10th with a throw of 35.02 meters (114’ 11”).
At the same time, the javelin was going on in the infield and four of Troy Colleran’s six throws were further than his prior personal best, and he ended the day with a personal best throw of 48.44 meters (158’ 11”), placing him sixth in the field! Kevin Ryu placed seventh and threw a season best of 47.90 meters (157’ 2”). Competing in outdoor track and field competition for the first time, Jack Trent placed 10th in the javelin with a throw of 41.69 meters (136’ 9”)! Throwing the javelin for the first time in competition since 2019, Jack Renda threw 34.65 meters (113’ 8”) and placed 12th.
In the women’s javelin, Carolina Andrade threw well, with her best throw of the day coming on her last throw, ending with a mark of 34.49 meters (113’ 2”)! Annelise Romero’s first throw was her best throw of the day, where she threw 25.00 meters (82’ 0”). Bethany Martin threw the javelin for the first time in competition and threw 23.51 meters (77’ 1”) and Trintje Nydam also threw well, throwing 17.55 meters (57’ 7”).
Mary Kate McGranahan jumping over the water barrier in the steeplechase
The first running event of the day was the women’s steeplechase and Mary Kate McGranahan was the only competitor in the event, a challenging endeavor for a long race. Mary Kate ran well completely by herself and crossed the finish line in a time of 11:40!
On the infield, Muffie placed fourth in the long jump with a jump of 5.21 meters (17’ 1.25”) and Samantha Tichelaar jumped 4.97 meters (16’ 3.75) to place ninth. Julia Zacher set a personal best in the long jump, jumping 4.83 meters (15’ 10.25”)! In the men's long jump, Adrian Friedman jumped a season best of 6.47 meters (21’ 2.75”) to place second in the field! Camden Heafitz jumped well in his first time long jumping in competition, jumping a mark of 5.88 meters (19’ 3.5”)! Max Spelke was just one centimeter behind him, ending the day with a jump of 5.87 meters (19’ 3.25”).
Julia Schor en route to winning the 1500
The next event on the track was the 1500 and Julia Schor won the race, using a surge on the third lap to carry her to the victory! Julia won in a time of 4:41 and won by more than three seconds, distancing herself from the field. In the same heat, Sylvan Wold ran a fantastic race, placing eighth and running a personal best time of 4:54! In the next heat, Ally Deegan also ran a great race, placing second in her heat in a time of 4:59! In the same heat, Eline Laurent ran a good race, crossing the finish line in a time of 5:06, a strong season opener for the senior. Right behind her, Gigi Chrappa ran a strong race and ran a time of 5:10.
In the men’s 1500, Will Merhige led the way for the Mammoths, running a tactically smart race and finished in a time of 4:03! In a different heat, Bobby Innes-Gold used his patience to his advantage, making a good push on the second lap to power him to a third place finish in his heat and a personal best time of 4:09! Running the 1500 for his first time, Ajay Sarathy ran hard from the gun and finished in a time of 4:11.
Anna Madden en route to setting the school record in the 400!
The next school record of the day was in the 400 meter dash, set by Anna Madden! Anna placed third in the race a time of 57.36 seconds, a school record and personal best for the senior! In the same heat, Juanita also ran a great race, running a personal best time of 58.04 seconds! In the next heat, Casie Eifrig ran a strong race, crossing the finish line in a time of 60.46 seconds! In the same heat as Casie, Nicole Barbaro got out hard and finished in a time of 62.35 seconds. In the next heat, Isabelle Lobo ran hard and finished in a time of 62.40 seconds.
Henry Buren en route to winning the 100 meter dash
Henry Buren kicked off his stellar day with a win in the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.03 seconds! Theo Woodward enjoyed a huge personal best, running a time of 11.65 seconds! Running his first race in two years, Chris Chukwura ran a time of 12.04 seconds and Marshall Richardson ran hard from the gun, running a time of 12.08 seconds. In the women’s 100, Amerley Lokko ran her best race in a Amherst uniform, running a time of 12.70 seconds!
In a heat of all Mammoths, Julia Zacher enjoyed a great debut in the 100 hurdles, winning the heat in a time of 16.52 seconds! Anaya Thomas finished second in the heat in a time of 16.55 seconds, and Bridget Cassata ran a good race, running a time of 16.61 seconds! Trintje Nydam ran a strong race too, crossing the finish line in a time of 16.72 seconds! Annelise Romero competed well and ran a time of 18.92 seconds. Camden Heafitz hurdled for the first time in competition and ran a time of 19.31 seconds in the 110 hurdles.
David Brown throwing the discus
The next school record of the day was set by Jordan Hecker in the pole vault, where the first year cleared a bar of 3.40 meters (11’ 1.75”) and took three good attempts at the next height of 3.55 meters too! Mia Bawendi jumped a personal best, clearing a height of 3.25 meters (10’ 8”)! Payton Sorensen cleared 2.95 meters (9’ 8”) and Bridget Cassata set a personal best, clearing 2.65 meters (8’ 8.25”)!
Over in the discus circle, David Brown enjoyed a really strong day, placing sixth with a throw of 40.97 meters (134’ 5”)! Hugh Lemmon-Kishi threw well too, ending the day with a best throw of 36.55 meters (119’ 11”)! Troy Colleran set a personal best in the discus to go along with his personal best in the javelin, throwing 36.15 meters (118’ 7”). Jack Trent threw well in his first time competing in the event, throwing 34.29 meters (112’ 6”). Jack Renda, Maurice Leon and Max Hoffman all competed hard, throwing marks of 32.51 meters (106’ 8”), 31.13 meters (102’ 1”) and 28.31 meters (92’ 10”), respectively.
Bethany Martin was the only Amherst woman in the discus and shot put and threw marks of 31.32 meters (102’ 9”) and 9.36 meters (30' 8.5"), respectively.
David Brown also led the way in the shot put, throwing a mark of 12.53 meters (41’ 1.5”). Hugh Lemmon-Kishi threw 12.46 meters (40’ 10.5”), a personal best for the sophomore! Max Spelke threw 10.27 meters (33’ 8.5”) to round out the Mammoths competing in the shot put.
Jack O'Hara en route to setting a personal best in the 800!
In the men’s 800, Jack O’Hara enjoyed a great race, breaking his prior personal best with his time of 1:56! Jack entered the 800 as the last seed and ran from the “slowest” heat, taking the lead 300 meters into the race and powered away for the victory in his heat, winning his heat by 3 seconds!
Ava Zielinski had a good race in the women’s 800, kicking off her outdoor season strong, running a time of 2:19! In the next heat, Sierra Donovan competed well and ran a time of 2:26. In the following heat, Susannah Auderset ran hard and finished in a time of 2:35.
Kelechi Eziri triple jumping
Kelechi Eziri placed second in the triple jump with a jump of 13.39 meters (43’ 11.25”) and Gabe Dos Santos jumped well too, jumping 12.74 meters (41’ 9.75”)!
Muffie Mazambani enjoyed a strong day in the triple jump, placing third with a jump of 11.15 meters (36’ 7”)! Anaya Thomas triple jumped for the first time in college and set a personal best, jumping 10.91 meters (35’ 9.5”)! Annelise Romero jumped well too, jumping a mark of 10.37 meters (34’ 0.25”).
In the high jump, Julia Zacher won by clearing a bar of 1.66 meters (5’ 5.25”) on her third and final attempt at the height! Anaya Thomas enjoyed her best day in the high jump as a Mammoth, clearing 1.51 meters (4’ 11.5”)! Gabe Dos Santos placed second in the high jump, clearing 1.85 meters (6’ 0.75”) on his second attempt at the height, and Camden Heafitz placed third by clearing 1.80 meters (5’ 10.75”)!
Artis Phillips (standing) holding Max Spelke's blocks for the 400 Hurdles
Running the 400 hurdles for the first time since 2019, Ava Tillman ran a strong race, running a time of 1:06.76 to finish fourth overall! Running side by side with Ava in the last straight away, Trintje Nydam also ran a strong race, running a time of 1:06.89, a personal best for the sophomore! Artis Phillips ran great in her first 400 hurdles race, coming from racing the 300 hurdles in high school, and got her 400 hurdles career started on a high note, running a time of 1:08.50!
Thomas Ye set a personal best in the 400 hurdles, running a time of 57.31 seconds! Max Spelke ran a great race in the same heat, crossing the finish line in a time of 59.97 seconds!
Henry Buren came back and won the 200, winning in a time of 22.27 seconds! Matt Gelin got out hard in the 200 and finished second in his heat in a time of 23.79 seconds. In the women’s 200, Samantha Tichelaar finished third in her heat in a time of 27.09 seconds.
(L-R) Daniel Martin, Luke Munch and Spencer Davis running the 5k
The next event on the track was the women's 5k. Sophie Wolmer led the race from gun to tape, winning in a stellar time of 17:07! Running her first track 5k ever, Sidnie Kulik ran a patient race and it paid off, keying off a competitor in the early laps and finished in a great time of 17:13! Claire Callon ran her second ever track 5k ever and ran hard, finishing in a time of 18:51.
In the men's 5k Daniel Martin, Luke Munch and Spencer Davis ran together for the first two miles and each passed several competitors in the final mile, showing off their strength! Luke was the first Mammoth across the finish line, running a personal best time of 15:42 to place sixth! Spencer ran a great race, placing eighth in a time of 15:48! Daniel Martin also set a personal best in the 5k, sneaking under the 16-minute barrier with his time of 15:58!
Anna Madden in the blocks for the 4x400 relay
The last event on the track was the 4x400 relay, where the Mammoths had three relay teams competing. Anna Madden came back after her school record breaking race to lead off the relay, running a strong lead off leg for the Mammoths. The "A" team of Anna, Juanita Jaramillo, Casie Eifrig and Nicole Barbaro placed second in a time of 4:00.38!
In the same heat as the "A" team, the "B" team of Ava Tillman, Artis Phillips, Isabelle Lobo and Ava Zielinski placed third in a time of 4:13. In a different heat, the "C" team of Julia Schor, Sierra Donovan, Sylvan Wold and Margo Pedersen placed fourth in a tight heat, running a time of 4:15.
We enjoyed a great meet over at UMass and are so grateful to everyone who came and cheered us on! It's wonderful to be back outside and the Mammoths are hype for the season!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is our ONLY home track and field meet on Saturday, April 9th. The field events will start at 11 AM and the track events will start at 12 PM.