On Friday April 28th and Saturday April 29th, the Mammoths competed at the NESCAC Championships! The Men placed third as a team and the women placed fourth as a team, both improvements upon the team’s places at the meet last year. Over the course of the two day meet, the Mammoths stepped up and competed with tons of heart and courage in windy and rainy weather.
Gabe Dos Santos clearing a bar in the High Jump
Pole Vault
Due to the projected windy and rainy weather, the Pole Vault and High Jump were contested on Friday for safety reasons.
The Women’s Pole Vault was the first event of the day on Friday and Mia Bawendi tied for 6th place by clearing her first two bars on her first attempts, clearing 3.40 meters (11’ 1.25”) to lock up 2.5 points for the Mammoths! Jordan Hecker tied for 8th place by clearing 3.10 meters (10’ 2”) on her first attempt which proved to be critical to earn 0.5 points for the Mammoths, as she earned those points by having fewer misses than competitors who cleared the same height with misses. Payton Sorensen placed 12th by clearing 2.95 meters (9’ 8”), improving upon her place from the NESCAC Championships last year by 10 places!
Alex Robin tied for 9th place, clearing 3.85 meters (12’ 7.5”) improving by 5 places upon his finish at the meet last year!
High Jump
Gabe Dos Santos placed third in the High Jump by clearing his first three bars on his first attempt at each height and cleared 1.90 meters (6’ 2.75”) which proved to be critical to earn 6 points for the team! Cam Heafitz tied for 5th place in the event by also clearing 1.90 meters (6’ 2.75”) and earned 3.5 points for the team! Alex Robin placed 10th, clearing 1.85 meters (6’ 0.75”) in his first time competing at the NESCAC Championships in the event!
Anaya Thomas placed 10th in the High Jump, clearing 1.52 meters (4’ 11.75”), improving by 4 places upon her finish at this meet last year!
Allison Lounsbury running the 10,000
10,000
The first event on the track on Saturday was the 10,000 Meters, and Theo Dassin, Luke Munch and Daniel Martin toed the line together. The three of them each moved their way up in the field throughout the race and all ran competitive races! Theo placed 12th in his first 10,000 race ever in a time of 32:15, Luke Munch placed 14th in a time of 32:21, his highest finish at the meet as he placed 27th in the 5k at this meet last year, and Daniel Martin placed 20th in a time of 32:52, improving 4 places upon his finish in the event as this meet last year!
Allison Lounsbury was the only Mammoth in the Women’s 10,000 and she had a fantastic day, placing second and earning 8 points for the team! Allison ran a smart race, letting her competitors push the pace in the early laps of the race as the top 6 runners separated themselves from the rest of the field. She clicked off consistent laps and made a great move with 6 laps to go to push the pace and had a big kick in the last lap, placing second in a personal best time of 37:11 and ran a huge negative split in the second half of the race!
Long Jump
Over in the jumps pit, the Men’s Long Jump got started at the same time as the 10,000. The event was key for the Mammoths, as Yeob Kim placed 2nd, earning 8 points for the team with a jump of 6.78 meters (22’3”)! Adrian Friedman placed 3rd, only 1 centimeter further than fourth place, earning 6 points for the team with a jump of 6.63 meters (21’ 9”)! Kelechi Eziri was absolutely clutch, placing seventh and earning 2 points for the team in his first competing this season! In total, the Mammoths earned 16 points in the event!
Max Spelke on the javelin runway en route to placing third in the event!
Javelin
Down the hill at the throwing area, the Men’s Javelin was a huge event for the Mammoths. In only his second time competing in the event this season and on his first throw, Max Spelke placed third, earning 6 points for the team! Max set a personal best with a throw of 52.06 meters (170’ 10”)! Max's throw also makes him Second All-Time at Amherst in the event! Alex Robin also came up clutch, placing 8th and earned 1 point for the team in his second time competing in the event this season as well, also setting a personal best with a throw of 44.22 meters (145’ 1”)! Together, Max and Alex earned 7 points for the team in the event!
Hammer
In the Hammer Throw, Charlie Spurrell placed third, earning 6 points for the team in his first NESCAC Championship meet! He threw 52.06 meters (170’ 10”) on his fifth attempt, coming up clutch in the final to earn points for the team. Hugh Lemmon-Kishi placed 19th in his first time competing in the event at this meet and set a personal best with a throw of 38.73 meters (127’ 1”)!
In the Women’s Hammer, Beth Martin placed seventh with a throw of 38.52 meters (126’ 4”), earning 2 points for the team! Deb threw well and placed ninth with a throw of 37.13 meters (121’ 10”)!
Shot Put
In the Women’s Shot Put, Beth Martin placed 11th with a throw of 10.14 meters (33’ 3.25”), improving by 2 places upon her finish in the event last year at this meet! Morgan Rome placed 21st with a throw of 8.74 meters (28’ 8.25”) and Deb Thayer placed 23rd with a throw of 8.70 meters (28’ 6.5”).
Over in the Men’s Shot Put, David Brown placed fifth, earning 4 points for the team with a throw of 13.79 meters (45’ 3”)! Hugh Lemmon-Kishi placed 17th with a throw of 11.65 meters (38' 2.75")
Arissa McGowan en route to winning the 100 Hurdles!
100 Hurdles
The next event on the track was the 100 Meter Hurdles Trials. In the Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles, 6 Mammoths competed and four qualified for the final! Eliza Cardwell and Arissa McGowan ran the first and second fastest times in the preliminary rounds, Anastasia Ioppolo qualified for the final with the fifth fastest time in the preliminary rounds and Trintje Nydam qualified for the final with the sixth fastest time in the preliminary rounds and set a huge personal best, running a time of 15.78 seconds! Olivia Steele placed 11th in her first time competing at the NESCAC Championships and Anaya Thomas placed 15th in the event!
Arissa McGowan later won the 100 Meter Hurdle Final, earning 10 points for the team, in a time of 15.14 seconds! Trintje placed fifth, earning four points by running a time of 15.79 seconds to break 16 for the second time twice in a day! Anastasia Ioppolo placed seventh, earning two points for the team and ran a time of 16.25 seconds. In total, the three women earned 16 points for the team in the event!
110 Hurdles
In the 110 Hurdles, Alton Machen qualified for the final, running the fifth fastest time in the preliminary round. In the final, Alton placed fifth, matching his seed, and earned four points for the team and ran a time of 15.49 seconds!
Jack Trent and Noah Harris placed ninth and tenth, respectively, in the 110 Hurdles, strong showings for the two of them!
Mary Kate McGranahan en route to a second place finish in the steeplechase!
3,000 Steeplechase
Paolo Canigiula was the only Mammoth to toe the line in the Men’s 3,000 Steeplechase and ran a smart race, gradually moving his way up in the heat to place sixteenth and run a personal best time of 10:32!
In the Women’s Steeplechase, Mary Kate McGranahan, Ona Ortiz-Gudeman and Claire Callon all raced in the fastest section. Mary Kate placed second and ran a strong race, earning 8 points for the team and crossed the finish line in a time of 10:57! She also improved by two places upon her finish in the event at this meet last year! Ona competed well and ran most of the race alone between packs and executed a great race, placing fifth and earning four points, running a time of 11:32! Claire Callon placed fourteenth in a gritty effort and in total, the Mammoths scored 12 points in the event!
Long Jump
Next in the horizontal jumps pit was the Women’s Long Jump, and Eliza Cardwell placed sixth, earning 3 points for the team with a jump of 5.32 meters (17’ 5.5”)! Anastasia Ioppolo placed ninth, jumping 5.19 meters (17’ 0.5”).
Javelin
Video of Carolina's winning and School Record setting throw!
Similar to the Men’s Javelin, the Women’s Javelin was also an amazing event for the Mammoths! Carolina Andrade won the event and earned 10 points for the team! She won by nearly five meters with a throw of 40.52 meters (132’ 11”) and broke her own school record! Morgan Rome placed fourth, earning 5 points for the team with a throw of 34.36 meters (112’ 9”) and Annelise Romero placed sixth, earning 3 points for the team with a throw of 31.15 meters (102’ 2”)! In total, these three women scored 18 points for the team in the event!
Jordan Harrison (lane 7) anchoring the Men's 4x100 Relay
4x100 Relay
After a pause in the action, the meet heated up when the 4x100 Relays stepped on the track. Mia Bawendi got a great start for the Mammoths on the lead off leg and handed off to Arissa McGowan for the second leg. She ran a great straightaway to hand off to Anastasia Ioppolo in a great position, who handed the baton to Eliza Cardwell to anchor the Mammoths, and she brought the Mammoths across the line in fourth place as the combination of their efforts earned five points for the team!
Ben Bell led off the Men's 4x100 Relay and got out well and handed off to Cody Pierce with the leaders. Cody ran a strong leg and him and Alex Nichols had a shaky handoff and got the baton through the exchange zone clean, allowing Alex to keep pace with the race leaders and he handed off to Jordan Harrison, who anchored the Mammoths across the finish line to a second place finish, earning 8 points for the team! The four of them also broke their own school record, running a time of 41.55 seconds!
1,500
Next on the track was the 1,500 and Will Merhige, Aydin Williams and Ian Dopp competed in the same heat with Nick Edwards-Levin competing in the following heat and the four of them all competed well. Will placed 14th in his first time competing at the NESCAC Track & Field Championships and Nick placed 15th, both running times of 4:03. Aydin placed 17th in a time of 4:06 and Ian placed 23rd in a time of 4:09.
In the Women's 1500, Julia Schor and Sylvan Wold competed in the same heat where the lead pack was all together with one lap to go. In a big sprint for the finish, Julia placed sixth, earning 3 points for the team and Sylvan placed eighth, earning 1 point for the team for a total of 4 points in the event! Ally Deegan competed fearlessly in a different heat, pushing the pace and kicking hard for the finish line, placing 12th in a time of 4:52!
Triple Jump
Gabe Dos Santos placed seventh in the Triple Jump, earning two points for the team with his jump of 12.85 meters (42' 2")! Adrian Friedman placed sixteenth with a jump of 11.98 meters (39' 3.75").
Anaya Thomas placed eighth in the Triple Jump, earning 1 point for the team with a jump of 11.05 meters (36' 3")! Competing in her third event of the day, Anastasia Ioppolo placed tenth with a jump of 10.64 meters (34' 11")!
Casie Eifrig in the first few meters of the 400
400
Casie Eifrig had a fantastic race in the Women's 400, battling hard in the final 100 meters to place second and earned 8 points for the team! She set a new personal best with her time of 58.46 seconds and improved by six places upon her finish at this meet last year! Ava Zielinksi and Caroline Wu both competed well in the same heat, as the two ran strong final second halves of the race to place 22nd and 26th in times of 1:03.95 and 1:05.96, respectively.
In the Men's 400, Jack O'Hara competed hard in a tight heat and placed 9th running a time of 50.00 seconds! Cody Pierce placed 12th, running a time of 50.24 seconds!
100
In the morning preliminary round, Jordan Harrison advanced to the final by winning his heat. Alex Nichols and Ben Bell both competed well, placing 17th and 19th, respectively.
Later in the day in the 100 Final, Jordan blew by his competitors and won the 100 and earned 10 points for the team in a time of 10.82 seconds! His win keeps the NESCAC 100 Championship Title in Amherst for the second straight year, as Henry Buren '22 won the 100 at the NESCAC Championships last year.
In the Women's 100 preliminary round, Amerley Lokko placed 10th in her first time competing at the NESCAC Championships and ran a season best time of 13.07 seconds!
(L-R) Wilson Spurrell (5), Kolya Markov-Riss (7) and Ben Davis (1) racing the 800
800
The 800 was an exciting race for the Mammoths, where Kolya Markov-Riss, Ben Davis and Wilson Spurrell all competed in the fastest heat of the 800. The three of them positioned themselves towards the front of the pack through the first lap and Kolya stayed in touch with the race leaders for the whole race. With 200 meters to go, Ben Davis got boxed in and pushed on his way to a huge kick, blowing by the field to place second, earning 8 points for the team in a time of 1:55, and Kolya fought all the way to the line to place third, earning 6 points for the team in a time of 1:56! Wilson ran hard and placed 12th in a time of 1:58 and overall the Mammoths scored 14 points in the event!
In the Women's 800, Bella Lozier and Piper Lentz competed in the same heat and Bella made a great move with a lap to go, pushing up with the race leaders to place eighth, earning one point for the team! Bella ran a time of 2:21 and running in a different heat, Margo Pedersen placed ninth, running a time of 2:22 and Piper placed tenth running a time of 2:22 as well!
Discus
Beth Martin placed fifth in the Discus, earning four points for the team with a throw of 33.83 meters (111' 0")! Beth improved upon her place in the event by two places from last year's meet! Deb Thayer placed 9th with a throw of 32.09 meters (105' 3") in a really gritty day for Deb!
Ellis Phillips-Gallucci in the blocks for the 400 Hurdles
400 Hurdles
Ellis Phillips-Gallucci got out to a great start in the 400 Hurdles and ran hard the whole way in the race, responding to every challenge he faced and placed second, earning 8 points for the team! Ellis ran a season best time of 53.72 seconds! Tom Ye ran a fearless race, getting out hard and running hard all the way to the finish line and placed 10th, improving upon his finish at the meet last year by one place!
Eliza Cardwell ran a fearless race in the 400 Hurdles, getting out to a fast start and running with heart in the final 100 meters of the race to place fourth and earn 5 points for the Mammoths and ran a time of 1:04.05! Trintje Nydam placed tenth in a time of 1:07.28 and Myeh Medina placed fourteenth in a time of 1:08.15 and both competed incredibly hard for their teammates!
200
Running in his fourth race of the day, Jordan Harrison gave everything he had to place third in the 200, earning 6 points for the team! Jordan ran a stellar season best time of 21.76 seconds! Ben Bell ran his third race of the day and placed 15th in a time of 22.96 seconds and Matt Gelin placed 21st in a time of 23.80 seconds.
Daphne Theiler (5) running the 5,000
5,000
The Women's 5,000 was a stellar race for the Mammoths! Mary Kate McGranahan toed the line for her second race of the day after placing second in the 3,000 Steeplechase earlier in the day. She raced patiently in the early laps of the race with a good pack of runners and broke away from the pack to launch herself into third place and separated herself from the pack behind her to place third and earn 6 points for the Mammoths! She ran a huge personal best time of 17:15! Daphne Theiler competed well in the pack and clicked off consistent laps before launching into a great last lap to place sixth and earn 3 points for the team! Daphne also ran a huge personal best time, running a time of 17:40! Sophia Price ran an excellent race as well, competing hard in the final mile to place 12th! She also ran a personal best time, running a time of 18:07! In total, the Mammoths scored 9 points in the 5,000!
The next event on the track was the 5,000 and Henry Dennen positioned himself with the leaders. The pace gradually quickened and Henry hung tough, fighting for every place to place seventh and earn two points for the Mammoths! Thomas Stephens placed 19th and ran a personal best time of 15:22 and George Cahill fought hard on a tough day, placing 25th.
Ellis Phillips-Gallucci anchoring the 4x400 Relay to second place
4x400 Relay
The second to last event of the day is the 4x400 Relay and Jai Dreher led off for the Mammoths, getting the Mammoths out in touch with the race leaders. Jai handed off to Jack O'Hara, who ran a fantastic second leg, moving the Mammoths from fifth place with 200 meters left in the race to second, as he had a great kick in the second half of the race! Kolya Markov-Riss received the baton from Jack for the third leg and used a fantastic final 100 meters of the race and a great handoff to keep the Mammoths in second! Ellis pulled even with the race leaders with a little more than 100 meters to go and fought with everything he had in the final stretch, bringing the Mammoths across the finish line in second place and earning the team 8 points in a time of 3:21!
Halle Hanna running the second leg of the 4x400 Relay
4x400 Relay
Mads Rabb led off the Women's 4x400 Relay and got the Mammoths right in the mix and handed off to Halle Hanna for the second leg. Halle ran a strong second leg and got the Mammoths into seventh place as she handed off to Trintje Nydam for the third leg. Trintje held the team's position in seventh place and handed off to Casie Eifrig to anchor the relay. Casie ran a great leg, bringing the Mammoths to 6th place and earned the team 3 points! The four Mammoths combined to run a time of 4:04.
Will Nagy anchoring the 4x800 Relay to Victory!
4x800 Relay
The Men's 4x800 Relay was the final event of the day and the Mammoths all gathered around the track to cheer on the relay!
Lev Robertson led off the 4x800 Relay, and got out well, positioning himself towards the front of the race and handed off to Braedon Fiume in third place! Braedon ran a great second leg, bridging a significant gap from the race leaders to hand off to Ben Davis in third place in reach of the race leaders. Ben caught up to the leaders on his first lap and sat on them and ran a stellar second lap, opening up a 4 second lead on the second place team as he handed off to Will Nagy to anchor the Mammoths! Will ran a fantastic anchor leg all alone, running a smart and strong leg to anchor the Mammoths to victory and earned 10 points for the team! Will also extended the lead and brought the Mammoths across the finish line in 7:48 with the closest team six seconds behind the Mammoths in a fabulous race! The Men also won the NESCAC 4x800 for the fourth year in a row as the team also won in 2018, 2019 and 2022! (The NESCAC Championships were not contested in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID)
The 4x800 was the Final Men's event of the day and with all the points tallied up, the Men placed Third as a team by scoring 114.5 points!
Julia Schor (7) leading off the 4x800 Relay
4x800 Relay
The Women's 4x800 Relay was the final event of the day and the energy was even higher after the Men won the 4x800 Relay!
Julia Schor led off for the Mammoths and ran a great leg, running patiently on the first lap as a competitor got out to a fast start and moved the Mammoths into second place in touch with the race leaders! Bella Lozier ran a great second leg, making a move for the lead and held it as she handed off to Piper Lentz in the lead! Piper ran a strong leg and gave it everything she had, handing off to Margo Pedersen in second place! Margo ran a gutsy leg and gave it her all for her teammates, bringing the Mammoths across the finish line in second place and earning 8 points for the team! The Mammoths crossed the finish line in a time of 9:29!
With the final points tallied, the Women placed 4th as a team with 110 points, the highest the women have placed at the NESCAC Championships in the 21st century!
As a team, the Mammoths all came together and gave it their all over the course of the two day meet. The focus of the meet was the team effort and seeing how the team came come together and we are so proud of how the Mammoths competed as a group! For both the Men and Women, the team places of 3rd and 4th, respectively, are the highest the teams have placed in the 21st century, a huge accomplishment for everyone!
We are so grateful for the support from family, friends and alumni and we couldn't have done it without their support!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Division 3 New England Championships from Thursday, May 4th to Saturday May 6th at Springfield College in Springfield, MA.