On Sunday, January 29th, the Mammoths competed at the New England Small College Invitational, held at the TRACK at new balance, a brand new banked track facility in Boston, Massachusetts. Competing against all of the schools in the NESCAC, the Mammoths competed well and had a great day!
Bethany Martin competing in the weight throw
The women’s weight throw kicked off the day, and Bethany Martin got the day going by setting a personal best on her first throw! Bethany placed seventh with a throw of 12.00 meters (39' 4.5") and Deb Thayer placed 23rd with a throw of 8.93 meters (29' 3.75")! In the men’s weight throw, Charlie Spurrell set another personal best, placing second with a throw of 17.08 meters (56' 0.5")! Jack Renda also set a personal best, throwing 13.28 meters (43' 7") on his last throw to place 13th!
In the shot put, David Brown placed sixth with a throw of 13.53 meters (44' 4.75") and Temidayo Bambe set a personal best with a throw of 8.73 meters (28' 7.75")! Bethany Martin continued her great day, placing seventh in the shot put with a season best and collegiate best throw of 10.54 meters (34' 7")! Morgan Rome placed ninth, throwing 9.80 meters (32' 2")! Debra Thayer placed 17th with a throw of 8.81 meters (28' 11"), completing a strong day for the Amherst throwers!
Eliza Cardwell (first over the hurdle), Arissa Grace McGowan to her left in lane four and Anastasia Ioppolo on the far left in lane one
The first races on the track were the 60 meter hurdles and up first in the men's 60 meter hurdles, Noah Harris placed fifth in the prelims great time of 8.79 seconds in his first 60 hurdles race! Later in the final, Noah improved to fourth place and a personal best time of 8.61 seconds!
In the women's 60 meter hurdles, Eliza Cardwell ran the fastest time in the prelims with a time of 9.03 seconds! Arissa Grace McGowan placed second in the prelims in a personal best time of 9.28 seconds! Anastasia Ioppolo ran placed eighth in the prelims, qualifying for the final with her teammates, running a time of 9.44 seconds! Running her first 60 hurdles race, Myeh Medina placed thirteenth in a time of 9.86 seconds and right behind her, Bridget Cassata set a personal best with a time of 9.87 seconds in fourteenth place!
In the final, Eliza won in a season best time of 8.85 seconds, the only runner in the field to break the 9 second barrier! Arissa Grace improved upon her personal best, running a time of 9.21 seconds to place fifth! Anastasia also set a personal best, running a time of 9.38 seconds for eighth place!
Ben Bell (7) and Jordan Harrison (5) in the 60 meter dash final
The next event was the 60 meter dash, where Jordan Harrison ran the fastest time in the prelims, running a time of 7.04 seconds! Ben Bell joined Jordan in qualifying for the final by placing fifth in the prelims with a time of 7.20 seconds! Alex Nichols and Yeob Kim placed thirteenth and fourteenth in the prelims, respectively, both running times of 7.25 seconds! For Yeob, it is a new personal best! Theo Woodward placed 24th in a time of 7.45 seconds, Ben Williams placed 28th in a time of 7.60 seconds and Marshall Richardson placed 31st in a time of 7.82 seconds, making for a strong and deep herd of Mammoths in the men's 60 meter dash!
In the 60 meter dash final, Jordan won in a time of 6.95 seconds, the only runner in the race to break the seven second barrier! Ben Bell ran faster in the final, running a time of 7.19 seconds to place eighth!
The next event on the track was the men's 5000, where Oliver Spiva placed 12th running a time of 15:35 and Daniel Martin placed 20th running a time of 16:14!
The women’s 5k was a fantastic race for the Mammoths! Mary Kate McGranahan pulled away from the competition early in the race and ran strong the whole way, winning in a personal best time of 17:25! Allison Lounsbury and Claire Callon sat in a pack for most of the race, ready to go for the final laps of the race. With 7 laps left to go in the race, Allison pulled away and kicked hard with a speedy 34.6 second final lap to place fourth in a personal best time of 17:58! Allison's final lap was the fastest lap of everyone in the race! Claire Callon pulled away from the pack as well and closed well, and ran a personal best time of 18:11! Mary Kate broke her previous PR by 50 seconds, Allison broke her previous PR by 13 seconds and Claire broke her previous PR by 32 seconds, a truly fantastic day for the women's 5k runners!
Anaya Thomas on the long jump runway
On the infield with two long jump runways and two pole vault pits, the men's and women's long jump and pole vault were run simultaneously.
In between the 60 meter dash prelims and finals, Eliza Cardwell and Anastasia Ioppolo competed in the long jump. Eliza placed third with a jump of 5.35 meters (17' 6.75") and Anastasia placed tenth with a jump of 4.97 meters (16' 3.75")! Anaya Thomas placed 17th with a jump of 4.66 meters (15' 3.5"), a season best! In the men's long jump, Adrian Friedman placed sixth with a jump of 6.45 meters (21' 2") and Kelechi Eziri placed 10th with a jump of 6.27 meters (20' 7")!
In the women's pole vault, Mia Bawendi placed fifth, matching her her season best with a jump of 3.30 meters (10' 10")! Jordan Hecker placed 10th with a jump of 3.15 meters (10' 4") and Bridget Cassata tied her personal best by clearing 2.85 meters (9' 4.25")!
(L-R) Ally Deegan (1), Ona Ortiz-Gudeman and Sylvan Wold
Next up was the mile, and the Mammoths had great competition in every single heat!
In the first heat of the men’s mile, Lev Roberston ran his first race since the winter of 2020 and crushed his personal best by 15 seconds, running a time of 4:36! In the second heat, Nick Edwards-Levin, Gent Malushaga, Ian Dopp and Aydin Williams all set personal bests too, as they swept second through fourth places in their heat! Nick and Gent both ran a personal best times of 4:19 and both were propelled by a 30 second final lap! Ian broke his previous personal best by 6 seconds, running a time of 4:22 and ran a speedy 31 second final lap! Aydin also set a huge personal best, breaking his previous personal best by 3 seconds to also run a time of 4:22!
In the last heat, Will Merhige and George Cahill toed the line against a strong field. Will made great moves throughout the race, putting himself in great positions throughout the race. George used a late kick and squeezed by several competitors on the inside lane in the final 100 meters of the race to cross the finish line in seventh place, running a time of 4:16! Will finished right behind him, running a personal best time of 4:17, breaking his previous personal best by 5 seconds!
The women's mile was also a great race, and in the second heat, Sylvan Wold, Ally Deegan and Ona Ortiz-Gudeman quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Sylvan made a crucial move with two laps to go, powering away to the finish line and winning her heat in a time of 5:12, breaking her previous personal best by 16 seconds! With her time running out of the second heat, Sylvan finished fifth overall in the entire field of the women’s mile! Ally ran a great race too, fighting to the finish line in a huge personal best time of 5:18! Ally placed ninth overall running out of the second heat! Ona completed the one, two, three sweep for the Mammoths, crossing the finish line in a time of 5:21, a great race for Ona! In the last heat, Julia Schor competed well in the deep field and ran a time of 5:16, placing eighth!
Cody Pierce (6) running the 400
In the men's 400, Cody Pierce used a big move on the second lap to win his heat in a great time of 50.68 seconds, placing him 10th overall! Ellis Phillips-Galucci got out well in his heat and placed third in his heat in a time of 51.01 seconds, placing him 13th overall! Tom Ye ran a great race, running well in a tight heat and crossing the finish line in a time of 52.40 seconds!
In the women's 400, Casie Eifrig ran a season best time of 1:00.79, placing third in a very competitive heat and 10th overall! Mads Rabb ran a great race too, placing third in a time of 1:01.89 in a very tight heat! Halle Hanna and Caroline Wu ran in the same heat, placing third and fifth in their heat in time of 1:02.16 and 1:03.72, respectively! Valerie Finke placed second in her heat ina time of 1:02.52 and Artis Phillips competed well in her heat, finishing in a time of 1:04.49!
Will Nagy dominating his heat of the 800
In the 800, Charlie Clary competed well in his heat, crossing the line third in his heat in a time of 2:05! Will Nagy, running his first race as a Mammoth, absolutely demolished the competition in his heat, as he literally ran away from the field by making a big move third lap and won his heat in a time of 1:57! Braedon Fiume ran in the next heat of the 800, placing third in his heat in a time of 1:58! Ben Davis ran hard in his heat and crossed the finish line in a time of 1:57! In the last and fastest heat, Jack O’Hara and Kolya Markov-Riss competed in a very talented and deep field. With 9 runners on the track, there wasn't much room to pass competitors and the race was very physical. Kolya got bounced around several times and fought for his position every time he was jostled and nearly set a personal best, running a time of 1:54 placing third in the heat! Jack also fought hard in the deep field and ran a personal best time of 1:55 to place fifth in the heat!
The women's 800 was also a very competitive field, and Ava Zielinski competed really well in the second heat of the women’s 800, keeping her eye on the competition and running hard the whole way, finishing in a season best time of 2:24! In the following heat, Piper Lentz got out well and competed hard, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:23! In the fastest and last heat, Margo Pedersen ran fearlessly, getting out hard in second place and held her position the entire race. Margo placed second in a stellar time of 2:18 and even broke her personal best in the 600 en route to finishing the 800! Bella Lozier ran a great race too, holding her position in third place the whole time and ran a time of 2:20!
Gabe Dos Santos clearing a bar in the high jump
Similar to the men's and women's long jump and pole vault that were run simultaneously, the men's and women's high jump were also contested at the same time as there were two high jump mats brought out to the infield, creating a fantastic experience for the high jumpers! Gabe Dos Santos matched his personal best in the high jump by clearing 1.90 meters (6' 2.75"), placing third!
In the triple jump, Kelechi Eziri won, using a stellar last jump of 13.58 meters (44' 6.75") to win! Gabe placed seventh in the event, jumping 12.56 meters (41' 2.5") and Adrian Friedman placed eleventh, jumping 11.99 meters (39' 4")! In the women's triple jump, Anastasia Ioppolo placed fifth in a season best jump of 11.04 meters (36' 2.75") and Anaya Thomas placed seventh, jumping 10.88 meters (35' 8.5")!
Sophia Price (10) en route to winning her heat of the 3k!
The next event on the track was the 200 and Ben Bell led the way for the Mammoths, finishing fourth in his heat in a time of 23.56 seconds! Theo Woodward set a personal best, running a time of 24.02 seconds to finish second in his heat! Matt Gelin placed fourth in his heat and ran a time of 24.13 seconds!
In the first heat of the 3k, Paolo Canigiula ran a smooth race, finishing fourteenth in his heat in a time of 9:29! In the second heat, Thomas Stephens, Aidan Gemme, Keon Mazdisnian and Luke Munch represented the Mammoths and Thomas, Aidan and Keon worked together up at the front of the race as Thomas and Aidan made great moves to lead the heat. Aidan placed third in the heat, running a time of 8:46! Keon crossed the line right behind him, placing fourth in a time of 8:47! Thomas finished off the third, fourth and fifth place sweep for the Mammoths in the heat, crossing the finish line in fifth place in a personal best time of 8:55! Luke Munch ran a nice race too, placing thirteenth in the heat in a time of 9:03!
Sophia Price ran an excellent race in the 3k, sitting in third place for most of the race, letting her competitors push the pace. With 5 laps to go, she approached the leaders, took the lead and ran away with it and won her heat in a time of 10:40! Sophia's final lap time of 35.5 seconds was the fastest of anyone in the entire race!
Kolya Markov-Riss (3) leading off the men's distance medley relay
The Mammoths ran two teams in the men's distance medley relay, and Kolya Markov-Riss led off the "A" team, putting the Mammoths in a great position at the conclusion of his 1200 leg. He handed off to Braedon Fiume for the 400 leg who ran competitively, and then handed the baton to Ben Davis, who ran a strong 800 leg. Will Merhige got the baton from Ben for the 1600 anchor leg. Running with the excitement that the Philadelphia Eagles held a 21-7 lead at halftime of the NFC Championship game (and later won the game, earning a trip to the Super Bowl) going into the relay, Will ran with confidence after setting a personal best in the mile earlier in the day. Will ran hard in a talented field and brought the Mammoths across in the finish line in a time of 10:32! The "B" team planned on not finishing the race due to last minute changes to the relay members and they all handled the changes really well as George Cahill led off the "B" team on the 1200 leg, Tom Ye ran a strong 400 leg on his second great 400 leg of the day and Nick Edwards-Levin closed out the relay running a solid 800 leg! All of the Mammoths ran well in their second race of the day!
Ally Deegan led off the women's distance medley relay, competing hard and putting the Mammoths in a great position! Margo got out hard in her 400 leg and handed off to Piper Lentz for the 800 leg, who ran a strong leg! Piper gave the baton to Bella Lozier, who ran a strong 1600 leg to bring the Mammoths across the finish line in a time of 12:44 in fifth place!
Halle Hanna running a leg on the 4x400 relay
The last event of the day was the women's 4x400 relay, and the Mammoths entered two teams in the women's races. Eliza Cardwell led off the "A" team, running hard and handed off to Halle Hanna with the Mammoths right in the mix of the heat. Halle ran a strong leg and handed off to Myeh Medina, who ran a strong leg! Mads Rabb anchored for the Mammoths, bringing the Mammoths across the finish line in fourth place and a season best time of 4:04 in a fun and exciting race! The "B" team planned on not finishing the race and Valerie Finke led off for the Mammoths, passing the baton to Caroline Wu in a good position! Caroline passed the baton to Artis Phillips, who ran a strong leg to finish the relay for the Mammoths!
We had a great time competing at the fast and brand new TRACK at new balance and are SO grateful for all of the families, friends and alumni who came out to cheer on the Mammoths!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Cupid Challenge on Saturday, February 4th, hosted by Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts!