On Saturday, January 15th, the Mammoths competed in their first indoor meet since March of 2020! The Mammoths traveled down to Wesleyan to compete in a meet versus Williams and Wesleyan. While usually this meet is treated as the Little 3 Championships, the meet was not treated as a scored meet, as each team has been affected by covid in recent weeks.
Jordan Hecker pole vaulting
The day got started with the field events, and the women's pole vault kicked off a great day with four women jumping higher than the previous school record! Competing for the first time in the pole vault, Bridget Cassata cleared 2.50 meters (8' 2.5")! First year Payton Sorensen cleared 2.95 meters (9' 8") in her Mammoth debut and first-year Eve Giancarlo took three good attempts 3.10 meters (10' 2"). Mia Bawendi set a new personal best with a jump of 3.10 meters (10' 2")! Jordan Hecker announced her arrival at Amherst with a jump of 3.25 meters (10' 8"), as the first-year established the school record in her first meet as a Mammoth!
Jack Renda in the weight throw
In the throwing circle, Jack Renda set a new personal best in the weight throw with a throw of 12.25 meters (40' 2.25"), a 1.6 meter (5' 2.8") improvement from his previous personal best! Multi-event athletes Jack Trent and Max Spelke both set personal bests in the shot put with throws of 12.69 meters (41' 7.75") and 10.66 meters (34' 11.75"), respectively! Troy Colleran and Renda competed well in the shot put, with each putting up solid throws to start their season with throws of 11.33 meters (37' 2.25") and 9.59 meters (31' 5.75"), respectively. In his first track and field meet ever, Max Hoffman enjoyed a solid debut, competing well in both the weight throw and shot put, putting up marks of 10.04 meters (32' 11.25") and 9.24 meters (30' 3.75")!
Annelise Romero won the shot put with a throw of 9.24 (30' 3.75") as part of her four-event day! Carolina Andrade also competed well in the shot put, placing second with a throw of 8.98 meters (29' 5.5"), and Trintje Nydam competed well, throwing 6.98 meters (22' 11").
(L-R) Maggie Drew, Gigi Chrappa, Sylvan Wold and Annika Paylor on the starting line of the mile
The first event on the track was the mile, where Sylvan Wold used a strong finishing kick to finish 5th in a time of 5:40! Annika Paylor ran well in her first indoor track meet ever, crossing the finish line in 5:40. Gigi Chrappa and Maggie Drew worked well together during the race, crossing the line in times of 6:04 and 6:05, respectively.
In the men's mile, Nick Edwards-Levin ran a gutsy race, placing third in a time of 4:26! Gent Malushaga used a speedy last lap to power him to a 5th place finish in a time of 4:38! Running his first track race as a Mammoth, Will Merhige enjoyed a great season debut, running a time of 4:40 to finish 6th, just ahead of Luke Munch in 7th and a time of 4:40!
The only Mammoth competitors in the shortest races of the day were Theo Woodward and Max Spelke, and they both came away with successful races! Theo ran a great race to place fifth in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.33 seconds and Max Spelke set a personal best in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.56 seconds!
Ben Wadsworth, center, running the 400
The Mammoths showed off their strength in the middle distance events, as Anna Madden and Juanita Jaramillo covered the two-lap 400 meter race in times of 59.87 and 59.92 seconds, respectively! Artis Phillips led her heat the whole way and enjoyed a strong debut as a Mammoth, crossing the line in a time of 1:04 and Susannah Auderset ran well coming off her fall semester abroad, also running a time of 1:04. Ben Wadsworth got out hard to finish second in the 400 with a time of 53.68 seconds.
Kolya Markov-Riss ran an excellent race in the 600, winning the race by 0.01 seconds with a lean in a time of 1:23.72! Charlie Clary ran well in his first race in a Mammoth singlet, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:25! Jack O'Hara used his experience in the 600 to his advantage, running to a dominating win in his heat, also in a time of 1:25! Tom Ye competed well in his heat, with a time of 1:28. Katie Lingen led the Mammoths in the 600, running a strong season opening time of 1:40! Margo Pedersen competed well in the 600 too, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:46.
Julia Schor, a first-year, employed a strong finishing kick to win the 800 in a time of 2:20 and Ava Zielinski ran well alongside her classmate, placing third in a time of 2:21! Wilson Spurrell ran a great race in the 800, clicking off consistent laps to finish a tight second in a time of 1:58! Alex Rich and Aydin Williams competed well to finish in times of 2:03 and 2:06, respectively.
In the 1,000, Bobby Innes-Gold and Ally Deegan both ran patient races, as they ran times of 2:40 and 3:16, respectively.
Julia Zacher high jumping
Back in the field, Julia Zacher won the high jump with a jump of 1.62 meters (5' 3.75") in her first meet as a Mammoth! Annelise Romero and Trintje Nydam also competed well, clearing 1.42 meters (4' 7.75") and 1.37 meters (4' 6"), respectively. Cam Heaftiz executed well to place second in the high jump in his Mammoth debut, clearing 1.88 meters (6' 2")! Gabe Dos Santos cleared the same height and set a personal best in the high jump!
Eliza Cardwell won the long jump in her Mammoth debut, jumping 5.38 meters (17' 8")! Muffie Mazambani and Sam Tichelaar jumped just one centimeter apart from one another, finishing the day with jumps of 5.14 meters (16' 10.5") and 5.13 meters (16' 10"), respectively! Annelise Romero and Trintje Nydam also competed well, with jumps of 4.63 meters (15' 2.25") and 4.61 meters (15' 1.5"). Adrian Friedman led the Mammoths in the long jump with a jump of 6.16 meters (20' 2.5") to place fourth and Gabe Dos Santos set a new personal best with a mark of 5.86 meters (19' 2.75")! Kevin Ryu stepped away from the javelin runway and stepped onto the long jump runway, competing for the first time in the long jump and ended the day with a mark of 5.06 meters (16' 7.25") in his Mammoth debut.
In the triple jump, Payton Sorensen placed second with a jump of 10.02 meters (32' 10.5") and Annelise Romero was just behind her with a jump of 10.00 meters (32' 9.75")!
(L-R) Claire Callon (10), Sophia Price (8), Sophie Wolmer (7), Mary Kate McGranahan (6) and Sidnie Kulik (5) on the starting line of the 3,000
The last open race of the day was the 3k, and the Mammoths came away with the victory in both the men's and women's races! In the women's 3,000, Sidnie Kulik won in a strong race, running away from the field to win in a time of 10:07! Sophie Wolmer ran an aggressive second half of the race and finished in a time of 10:26! Mary Kate McGranahan set a personal best in the 3,000 with a time of 10:35 in a great season opening race! Firstyears Sophia Price and Claire Callon competed well, running times of 10:46 and 11:01, respectively, and Claire ran in her first ever indoor meet! In the men's 3,000, Ajay Sarathy powered away to the victory in the final five laps, crossing the line in a time of 8:42, a great season opener! Owen Daily ran hard, placing third in a time of 8:54, followed by Keon Mazdisnian and Theo Dassin, who ran a great second half of the race to place 5th and 6th in times of 8:56 and 8:58, respectively. First-years Ben Callon and Daniel Martin also worked well together in their first 3k, running a well-executed race to cross the finish line in times of 9:22 and 9:27, respectively.
The final track events were the 4x800 and 4x400 relays and the Mammoths brought their best efforts!
Margo Pedersen doubled back from the 600 to lead off the women's 4x800 and handed off to Ava Zielinski, doubling back from the 800. Sierra Donovan got the baton from her training partner Ava, Sierra passed the baton to Julia Schor, who anchored the relay after winning the 800, bringing the Mammoths across the line in third place in a time of 10:08! The men's 4x800 was led off by Jack O'Hara, who doubled back from the 600 to put the Mammoths in a good position in the relay. Jack handed off to 600 winner Kolya Markov-Riss, who competed hard and handed off to Gent Malushaga for the third leg. Gent ran hard after running the mile and handed the baton to anchor leg Nick Edwards-Levin, who also ran the mile earlier in the meet, and brought the Mammoths across the line in third place, in a time of 8:23.
The men's 4x400 was composed three middle-distance runners and a multi event athlete, as Alex Rich, who ran the 800 earlier in the meet, led off and passed the baton to Aydin Williams, who also ran the 800. Aydin gave the baton to Max Spelke, coming off a busy day in which he set personal bests in the shot put, 60 hurdles and pole vault, to run a solid third leg. He handed the baton to Wilson Spurrell, coming off a great 800 race earlier in the day, anchored the Mammoths with a competitive leg and across the line in 3rd place!
The women's 4x400 was a tightly contested race and Ava Tillman led off the Mammoths in a great leg. Casie Eifrig, in her first race as a Mammoth, ran a stellar second leg to grab the Mammoths the lead and handed off to classmate Eliza Cardwell, who won the long jump earlier in the meet. Eliza kept the Mammoths in the lead and passed the baton to Sam Tichelaar, who responded to several lead changes in the final 200 meters to bring the Mammoths home with a victory in a time of 4:06!
Troy Colleran setting the new school record in the pole vault!
The final event of the meet was the men's pole vault, which was a great event for the Mammoths! Max Spelke set a new personal best in the pole vault with a jump of 3.25 meters (10' 8")! First-year Alex Robin enjoyed a great Mammoth debut, placing third with a jump of 4.00 meters (13' 1.5")!
Troy Colleran demolished the school record in the pole vault, clearing 4.60 meters (15' 1"), clearing the bar at his second attempt at that height, much to the delight of the entire Amherst team! Troy wiped a 45-year-old record from the record board, adding to the senior's list of school records.
The Mammoths enjoyed their first indoor track meet since 2020 and we are so grateful for the opportunity to compete! While spectators were not allowed at the meet, we felt everyone's support from afar!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Middlebury Winterfell Meet held at Middlebury College in Middlebury Vermont. Spectators are not allowed, but there will be a live stream and live results!