On Friday, January 20th and Saturday, January 21st, the Mammoths competed at the Middlebury Winter Classic, hosted by Middlebury College. The Mammoths enjoyed a great second meet of the season!
Trintje Nydam high jumping (picture from the Little 3 Championships)
On Friday, the multi athletes kicked off the action with the start of the Heptathlon for the men and the start of the Pentathlon for the women. The first event was the Pentathlon 60 meter hurdles, where Trintje Nydam set a personal best with a time of 9.37 seconds, placing second and earning 834 points!
Next in the Pentathlon high jump, Trintje cleared 1.38 meters (4’ 6.25”) earning 491 points. In the shot put, Trintje Nydam threw 8.15 meters (26’ 9”), setting a new personal best and earning 409 points! In the long jump, she jumped just one centimeter off her personal best, jumping 4.85 meters (15’ 11”), earning 519 points! In the Pentathlon concluding 800, Trintje placed second and ran a time of 2:35, earning 629 points! Trintje scored a total of 2882 points, placing second and setting a new personal best!
Cam Heafitz getting ready to high jump (picture from the Little 3 Championships)
In the Heptathlon, the men kicked off the two-day event placing third through sixth in the 60 meter dash, where Zach Villegas led the squad placing third in a time of 7.59 seconds, Cam Heafitz was next across the line in fourth place in 7.63 seconds, Max Spelke placed fifth in a time of 7.69 seconds and Alex Robin placed sixth in a time of 7.93 seconds.
Next in the long jump, Cam won the long jump with a jump of 5.88 meters (19’ 3.50”), a personal best! Zach Villegas placed third with a jump of 5.76 meters (18’ 10.75”), Max Spelke placed fourth with a jump of 5.64 meters (18’ 6”) and Alex Robin placed sixth with a jump of 5.26 meters (17’ 3.25”)!
In the shot put, the Mammoths swept places four through seven, as Max threw 9.77 meters (32’ 0.75”), Zach threw 9.73 meters (31’ 11.25”), Cam threw 9.20 meters (30’ 2.25”) in a personal best throw and Alex threw 8.03 meters (26’ 4.25”).
Video of Cam Heafitz clearing 2.01 meters (6' 7") in the high jump
The Heptathlon high jump was a particularly exciting way to wrap up Day 1 of the Heptathlon, where Cam won in a personal best jump of 2.01 meters (6’ 7”)! He cleared the bar on his last attempt, adding to the excitement and his teammates were elated! Alex set a personal best with a jump of 1.89 meters (6’ 2.25”) to place second! Zach Villegas placed fourth, clearing 1.68 meters (5’ 6”) and Max Spelke cleared 1.59 meters (5’ 2.50”)! After Day 1 of the Heptathlon, Cam sat in the lead with 2,483 points, with Zach in third place with 2,216 points, Max in fourth place with 2,092 points and Alex in fifth place with 2.086 points!
Alex Robin tying his personal best in the pole vault!
The 60 meter hurdles kicked off Day 2 of the meet, and Max Spelke led the Mammoths in third place, running a time of 9.98 seconds. Camden Heafitz placed fourth in a personal best time of 10.53 seconds and Zach placed fifth in a time of 10.96 seconds. Unfortunately, Alex was unable to finish the race.
Alex came back with a vengeance in the pole vault, clearing 4.15 meters (13’ 7.25”) to win the event and he tied his personal best in the event! Zach placed second, clearing 3.35 meters (10’ 11.75”), Max placed third clearing 3.15 meters (10’ 4”) and Cam placed sixth with a personal best jump, clearing 2.55 meters (8’ 4.25”)!
They closed out their marathon of the two-day event with the 1,000 meters. Max Spelke placed second in a time of 3:00, with Cam right behind him in a time of 3:00 as well in third place! Alex Robin placed fifth in a time of 3:07 and Zach placed seventh in a time of 3:13, both nice debuts for their first time racing over the distance!
With the points tallied up, Cam placed second with a score of 3,839 points, Max placed third with a score of 3,693 points, Zach placed fourth with a score of 3,571 points and Alex placed sixth with a score of 3,339 points! It was Cam, Zach and Alex’s first time competing in the Heptathlon, and they all competed well!
Debra Thayer throwing the shot put
The weight throw was the first open event of the day on Saturday, and all three Mammoths competing in the event made the finals with top-9 marks from their flights! Charlie Spurrell enjoyed another great day, placing second with a personal best throw of 16.37 meters (53’ 8.50”)! He further improved upon his place as third all-time at Amherst in the event. David Brown placed eighth with a throw of 12.73 meters (41’ 9.25”) and made great adjustments along the way. Jack Renda placed ninth with a throw of 12.67 meters (41’ 7”) and had a great series of throws!
Over in the women’s shot put, Bethany Martin and Debra Thayer both set season bests and collegiate bests, throwing marks of 10.53 meters (34’ 6.75”) and 9.08 meters (29’ 9.50”), respectively! Bethany and Morgan Rome both made the final, where Beth placed fifth and Morgan placed seventh with a throw of 10.13 meters (33’ 3”)! Later in the day, Beth placed 11th in the weight throw, throwing a mark of 10.58 meters (34’ 8.50”).
Gent Malushaga (3) running the mile
The first running event of the day was the men’s mile, where Nick Edwards-Levin led the way for the Mammoths, finishing ninth overall in a time of 4:26! Gent Malushaga was right behind him, placing tenth using a speedy final lap to cross the finish line in a time of 4:26 as well! Aydin Williams ran a great race too, running 4:27 to place thirteenth overall! Ian Dopp held on well to run 4:28 and Braedon Fiume ran a time of 4:29! Paolo ran well out of the first heat, placing third in his heat in a time of 4:51!
In the 500 meter run, a not often run event, Piper Lentz ran a great race, finishing fourth in a time of 1:21, just milliseconds off her personal best in the event. Ava Zielinski competed well in her first time running the event, placing sixth in a time of 1:23!
Jordan Hecker clearing a bar in the pole vault
In the women’s pole vault, the Mammoths showed off their depth, as Jordan Hecker placed second, clearing 3.20 meters (10’6”) and Mia Bawendi placed third, clearing the same height as Jordan! Eve placed fifth, clearing 3.05 meters (10’ 0”) and Bridget placed eighth, clearing 2.75 meters (9’ 0.25”)! In the men's pole vault, Kevin Ryu set a personal best by clearing 2.45 meters (8' 0.5")!
Bella Lozier (10) and Ally Deegan (2) running the 1,000
Sylvan Wold was the only Mammoth who competed in the 800 and ran well coming off a slow start to the race, placing fourth in a time of 2:26!
Bella Lozier won the 1,000 in her first time running the event, making a great move with two laps to go to take the lead and won in a time of 3:05! Ally Deegan placed third in a fantastic race, making a crucial move on the third lap and fought to the line, crossing the finish line in a personal best time of 3:08!
Kolya Markov-Riss cranked down the pace in the 1,000, winning in a time of 2:31, a huge personal best! Ben Davis ran a great race as well, placing third in a time of 2:33!
David Brown throwing the shot put
David Brown won the shot put with a throw of 13.94 meters (45’ 9”), with all of his throws being farther than 13 meters, a fantastic display of his consistency and strength! Charlie Spurrell placed 22nd, throwing a mark of 10.15 meters (33’ 3.75”) and Temidayo Bambe made his Mammoth debut, throwing 7.83 meters (35’ 8.25”)!
Overall, it was a great day at the Winter Classic and we are so grateful for everyone’s support near and far!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the New England Small College Invite on SUNDAY January 29th, where all of the NESCAC schools will be competing at the TRACK at new balance in Boston, Massachusetts.