What a weekend! The Mammoths competed at two meets over the weekend, with a group of women and the men’s distance medley relay competing at the Valentine Invitational on Friday, a group of men and the women’s distance medley relay competing at the Valentine Invitational on Saturday, and a herd of Mammoths competing at the Field & Track Meet on Saturday!
Piper Lentz running a PR in the 800 - 2:18!
On Friday, the action kicked off with Mary Kate McGranahan in the 5,000. Mary Kate ran hard from the gun and crossed the finish line in a time of 17:38. On the infield, Eliza broke 9 seconds for the second time this season in the 60 hurdles, running a time of 8.91 seconds! Arissa McGowan, Trinjte Nydam and Myeh Medina all competed well, running times of 9.41, 9.58 and 13.11 seconds, respectively!
The women’s 800 was next on the track, and Piper Lentz ran a stellar race by getting out hard and pushing the middle laps and ran a personal best time of 2:18 to place second in her heat! Bella Lozier and Margo Pedersen ran in the same heat and after a slower first lap, the two pushed the next laps and ran hard all the way, as Bella ran a season best time of 2:19 and Margo ran 2:23! In a different heat, Ava Zielinski got out hard and closed well, running a season best time of 2:20!
(L-R) Casie Eifrig, Eliza Cardwell, Myeh Medina and Trintje Nydam after running 3:55 in the 4x400 relay!
In the women’s 400, Mads Rabb ran a great race, closing hard in the last 100 to win her heat in a personal best time of 1:00.66! Valerie Finke won her heat in a personal best time of 1:01.28, Halle Hanna placed third in her heat in a season best time of 1:02.00, Caroline Wu placed second in her heat in a personal best time of 1:03.06 and Artis won her heat in a time of 1:03.09!
The women’s 400 runners came back just hours later to compete in the 4x400 relay, and the Mammoths absolutely crushed it! Eliza Cardwell led off the ‘A’ team, using a final push in the last 50 meters to put the Mammoths even with a competing team! She handed off to Myeh Medina who sat in second for the first lap and blew by the competition in the last 100 meters to seize the lead for the Mammoths! Trintje Nydam received the baton in the lead and held it for her leg of the relay, handing off the baton to Casie Eifrig in the lead! Casie ran hard from the gun and anchored the Mammoths to winning the heat, crossing the finish line in a fantastic time of 3:55.74, a HUGE season best for the relay! Valerie Finke led off the ‘B’ team and ran a strong leg, handing off to Mads Rabb in second place! Mads made a great move for the lead on the second lap and extended her lead, handing off to Caroline Wu in first place! Caroline ran a strong second leg, running faster than her 400 PR earlier in the meet! She handed off to Halle Hanna, who ran a strong leg to anchor the Mammoths to third place in their heat in a time of 4:03.50, the second fastest time the Mammoths ran all season!
Ally Deegan (bib number 50) running the mile - she set a personal best running 5:14!
Next up was the mile, and Sylvan Wold ran a great race! Sylvan took the lead three laps into the race and ran away with the lead, winning her heat in a huge personal best time of 5:08! Ally Deegan ran a strong race in the mile too, putting herself in great positions throughout the race and ran a big personal best time of 5:14! Julia Schor lost her shoe only 20 meters into her mile race and competed well, passing several runners in the last laps of the race to run 5:16! Ona Ortiz-Gudeman competed well and ran a nice race, running 5:22!
Next up, the men competed in the third heat of the distance medley relay. Gent Malushaga led off for the Mammoths on the 1200 leg and ran incredible leg, making up a gap on the last lap to put the Mammoths right in the lead when he handed off to Cody Pierce for the 400 leg! After getting boxed in for the first lap, Cody exploded on the second lap, leaving the competitors far behind him to hand off to Jack O’Hara with a huge lead. Jack ran a strong 800 leg, keeping the competitors behind him and handed off to Henry Dennen with the lead. Henry ran a stellar 1600 leg, running solo the whole time and looked incredibly smooth to bring the Mammoths across the line with a win in their heat with a time of 10:07!
The last event of the night was the women’s 3k, and Claire Callon and Allison Lounsbury toed the line in a deep and talented field of 22 women. The field got out together and the Mammoths looked smooth at the back of the pack. Going into the fourth lap as Claire Callon moved up the field, she was unfortunately tripped from behind and took a fall. Claire got right back up and gradually worked her way back into the action. Allison moved up in the field and in the final three laps she passed 7 people and closed in a 33 seconds to run a huge personal best time of 10:22! Claire Callon recovered after her fall and ran a personal best time of 10:37! In the next heat of the 3k, Sophia Price employed a similar strategy to Allison, clicking off consistent laps and used an amazing kick on the last lap, closing in 36 seconds to set a huge personal best time of 10:22!
Kolya Markov-Riss (bib #1980) en route to winning his heat of the 800 in a personal best time of 1:51!
The action on Saturday at the Valentine Invitational kicked off with the men’s 3k, where Theo Dassin, Oliver Spiva and Thomas Stephens all competed in the same heat. All three went through the mile mark within two seconds of one another towards the front of the field and they looked great! With five laps left in the race, Thomas made a big move for the front pack and the pace cranked down as the race continued. With two laps to go, Oliver and Thomas launched into their final kicks, both coming across the finish line in huge personal best times of 8:38! Theo wasn’t far behind, coming across the line in 8:44 in a fantastic season opener!
The men’s 800 got started on an incredible note, as Kolya Markov-Riss demolished his heat of the 800, winning in a huge personal best time of 1:51.81! Kolya got out hard, taking the lead right away. The field stayed in touch with him through the first three laps and he exploded on the last lap, pulling away from the field to run a time that is now third all-time at Amherst in the event! The 800 PR train continued with Will Nagy, where his move on the second lap up to the lead pack proved to be critical, as he stayed in touch with the leaders for the rest of the race and kicked hard in the last lap, coming across the finish line in a huge personal best time of 1:54! Ben Davis continued the PR train, positioning himself in the middle of the field in the first three laps and used a fantastic kick on the final lap to run a huge personal best time of 1:54! Jack O’Hara and Wilson Spurrell toed the line in the same heat of the 800 and got off the line well and both positioned themselves towards the front of the race. With one lap to go, Jack launched into his kick and came across the line in a big personal best time of 1:54! Wilson fought to the line and ran a great season opener, running a time of 1:55! Braedon Fiume completed the PR train, making great moves to stay in touch with the race leaders throughout his race to run a personal best time of 1:56!
Aidan Gemme (sticker 15) being cheered on by his teammates en route to a mile PR of 4:21!
The women's DMR was the only women's event contested on Saturday, and the squad of Bella Lozier, Casie Eifrig, Piper Lentz and Sylvan Wold teamed up to run a great DMR! Bella led off for the Mammoths, running a strong 1200 leg to hand off to Casie in a nice position. Casie got out hard in the 400 and handed off to Piper in touch with competing teams. Piper got out hard in the 800 leg and ran strong, handing off to Sylvan in a nice position. Sylvan made great moves and took the lead in her pack, pushing the pace and bringing the Mammoths across the finish line in a great season best time of 12:10!
In the sprints, Tom Ye enjoyed a great day in the 400, running a personal best time of 51.74! Jordan Harrison won his heat of the 200 in a season best time of 22.67 seconds! Cody Pierce, after running a strong 400 leg of the DMR on Friday night, ran his first 200 in college and ran a great time of 22.79 seconds to win his heat too! Ben Bell ran a season best time of 23.18 seconds to place second in his heat and Matt Gelin also ran a season best time, running a time of 23.63 seconds!
The mile was a great event for the Mammoths with several personal bests run! George Cahill ran a strong race, making great moves to work his way up in his heat to run a personal best of 4:15! Nick Edwards-Levin also ran a great race, using a great kick to also run a personal best time of 4:15! Will Merhige ran hard from the gun and was rewarded with a personal best time of 4:16! Aydin Williams ran a great race, using a great final kick to run a personal best time of 4:18! Keon Mazdisnian gradually moved his way up in his heat of the mile and ran a great last lap, running a personal best time of 4:21! Aidan Gemme employed a similar strategy to Keon and used a great last lap to also run a personal best time of 4:21! Ian Dopp fought hard from the gun and ran a time of 4:24 and Gent Malushaga ran hard too, running a time of 4:37.
Henry Dennen (Big #1969) running the 3k where he ran a time of 8:19!
Henry Dennen was the last Mammoth to compete at the meet, running in the faster evening sections of the 3,000. Henry positioned himself towards the front of his heat throughout the race and stayed calm when he was jostled around in the field. With his teammates cheering him on, Henry made a big move with five laps to go, cranking down the pace. He closed hard in the final two laps, coming across the finish line in an amazing time of 8:19, which is second all-time at Amherst in the event!
Yeob Kim running the 60 meter dash (picture from the Cupid Challenge)
At the Field & Track Meet, the Mammoths competed well across the board! Yeob Kim won the 60 meter dash final in a time of 7.26 seconds! Ben Williams set a personal best in the 60 meter dash final, running a time of 7.55 seconds! Alex Nichols ran the fastest time in the prelims, running a time of 7.22 seconds! Marshall Richardson placed 17th in the prelims, running a time of 8.05 seconds.
Mia Bawendi ran a personal best in the 60 meter dash, running a time of 8.16 seconds in the prelims and placed second in the final!
In the 60 meter hurdles, Noah Harris placed third in the 60 hurdle final, running a time of 8.91 seconds! Max Spelke placed seventh in the hurdle final, running a season best time of 9.55 seconds and Zach Villegas set a personal best with a time of 9.96 seconds! Four Mammoths competed in the 60 meter hurdle final, as Anastasia Ioppolo placed second in the final with her fastest time of the day coming from the prelims with a time of 9.31 seconds! Bridget Cassata placed third in the final with a big personal best time of 9.82 seconds! Olivia Steele placed fourth in the final and ran a personal best time of 9.72 seconds in the prelims and Anaya Thomas placed fifth in the final 10.05 seconds after running her best time of the day in the prelims with a time of 9.95 seconds!
Gabe Dos Santos triple jumping (picture from the Cupid Challenge)
In the jumps, Gabe Dos Santos enjoyed a great day, winning both the high jump and triple jump! Gabe won the high jump by clearing 1.80 meters (5' 10.75") and the triple jump by jumping 13.19 meters (43' 3.25")! Zach Villegas placed second in the high jump by clearing 1.60 meters (5' 3") and in the triple jump, Adrian Friedman placed third with a jump of 12.18 meters (39' 11.5")!
Anaya Thomas won the high jump with a jump of 1.52 meters (4' 11.75") and Annelise Romero placed third by clearing 1.37 meters (4' 6")! Anaya also won the triple jump by jumping 10.70 meters (35' 1.25")! Anastasia Ioppolo placed third with a jump of 10.58 meters (34' 8.5") and Annelise Romero placed seventh with a jump of 9.74 meters (31' 11.5").
Yeob continued his great day, winning the long jump with a jump of 6.55 meters (21' 6")! Adrian Friedman also placed second in the long jump with a jump of 6.54 meters (21' 5.5")! Anastasia also placed second in the long jump, jumping 5.04 meters (16' 6.5")!
Eve Giancarlo pole vaulting (picture from the Winter Classic)
In the pole vault, Jordan Hecker won in a jump off by clearing 3.25 meters (10' 8")! Mia Bawendi placed second by clearing 3.15 meters (10'4") and Eve Giancarlo placed fourth by clearing the same height! Bridget Cassata placed fifth by clearing 2.85 meters (9' 4.25")! Alex Robin placed third in the pole vault by clearing 4.00 meters (13' 1.5") and Max Spelke placed eighth by clearing 3.25 meters (10' 8")!
Nora Bannon running the 5k (picture from the Cupid Challenge)
Daphne Theiler won the 5,000 for the second weekend in a row, winning in a time of 18:38! Nora Bannon had a huge race, breaking the 19-minute barrier for the first time, running a time of 18:55! Paolo Canigiula placed fourth in the 3,000, running a time of 9:34 and Emmett McGrath placed sixth in the mile, running a time of 4:56.
Bethany Martin set a personal best in the weight throw, throwing a mark of 12.24 meters (40' 2"), placing third! In the same event, Deb Thayer placed ninth, throwing a mark of 10.01 meters (32' 10.25")! David Brown placed fourth in the weight throw, throwing 13.17 meters (43' 2.5") and Jack Renda placed fifth, throwing 12.34 meters (40'6")!
In the shot put, David Brown also placed fourth, throwing 13.06 meters (42' 10.25") and Hugh Lemmon-Kishi made his season debut, placing seventh with a throw of 12.33 meters (40' 5.5")! Alex Robin placed nineteenth with a throw of 8.44 meters (27' 8.25") and Temidayo Bambe placed twentieth with a throw of 8.07 meters (26' 5.75"). Bethany Martin continued her strong day in the shot put, placing fifth with a throw of 10.46 meters (34' 4")! Morgan Rome placed eighth with a throw of 9.78 meters (32' 1"), Deb placed twelfth with a throw of 8.84 meters (29' 0") and Annelise Romero placed thirteenth with a throw of 8.69 meters (28' 6.25")!
We had a great time competing at both meets and are so excited about all of the great performances this weekend! We are so grateful for all the support and cheering from family, friends and alumni!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Springfield College Triangle Classic, hosted by Springfield College on Saturday, February 18th. The action starts at 10:30 AM!