On Saturday, February 4th, the Mammoths competed at the Cupid Challenge, hosted by Tufts University. The Mammoths competed really well across the board and won events, set personal bests and made great progress towards their goals!
David Brown competing in the weight throw
In the weight throw, Charlie Spurrell continued his fantastic season, winning the event in a personal best throw of 17.19 meters (56' 4.75")! David Brown and Jack Renda both threw well, placing ninth and fourteenth with throws of 13.58 meters (44' 6.75") and 12.38 meters (40' 7.5"), respectively! Deb Thayer enjoyed a huge personal best in the weight throw, improving upon her prior personal best by nearly five feet, throwing 10.82 meters (35' 6") on her last throw! Bethany Martin also threw well, throwing 11.42 meters (37' 5.75") to place twelfth!
In the pole vault, Jordan Hecker placed fourth by clearing 3.30 meters (10' 10") for a season best and made good attempts at a school record height! Bridget Cassata also set a personal best by clearing 3.00 meters (9' 10") to place tenth!
In the shot put, David Brown placed sixth with a throw of 13.29 meters (43' 7.25")! Max Spelke threw a season best with a throw of 10.04 meters (32' 11.25"), Zach Villegas set a personal best with a throw of 9.95 meters (32' 7.75"), Temidayo Bambe set a personal best with a throw of 9.51 meters (31' 2.5") and Alex Robin set a personal best with a throw of 9.41 meters (30' 10.5")! Bethany placed eighteenth with a throw of 9.11 meters (29' 10.75"), Deb placed twenty second with a throw of 9.01 meters (29' 6.75") and Annelise Romero placed twenty fourth with a throw of 8.91 meters (29' 2.75")!
Jordan Harrison (in lane one) starting the 60 meter dash
The first running event of the day was the 60 meter hurdles, and the Mammoths had four women in the hurdle final, half of the field! Eliza Cardwell won in a time of 8.94 seconds, Anastasia Ioppolo placed fourth in a personal best time of 9.20 seconds after setting a personal best in the prelims to make the final, Arissa McGowan placed seventh in a time of 9.40 seconds and Trintje Nydam placed eighth in a time of 9.80 seconds! In the prelims, Bridget Cassata placed twelfth in a time of 9.90 seconds, Myeh Medina placed fourteenth in a time of 9.97 seconds and Olivia Steele placed sixteenth in a time of 9.98 seconds for seven Mammoths under 10 seconds! In the men's 60 hurdles, Noah Harris placed ninth in a time of 8.87 seconds!
Jordan Harrison placed second in the 60 meter dash final, running a time of 6.96 seconds! Alex Nichols joined him in the final, placing sixth in a personal best time of 7.12 seconds after setting a personal best in the prelims! Ben Bell placed eleventh in the prelims with a time of 7.20 seconds, Yeob Kim placed seventeenth in a time of 7.30 seconds and Theo Woodward placed twenty seventh in a time of 7.47 seconds! And Ben Williams won his heat in a time of 7.63 seconds!
Mary Kate McGranahan (4) en route to winning the mile
In the 5k, Luke Munch clicked off consistent laps and ran alone for most of the race, placing second in a personal best time of 15:34! Daniel Martin ran a patient race and competed well, running 16:00, just two seconds off his personal best in the event! In the women's 5k, Daphne Theiler toed the line in the 5k for her first track race of the season and competed well, latching onto a solid pack for the first two miles of the race. With one mile left, Daphne left the pack behind and ran hard to the finish line, running a fantastic season opening time of 18:37! Nora Bannon ran a patient race and ran a fantastic last mile, crossing the finish line in a personal best time of 19:21!
Henry Dennen ran with confidence in the men’s mile, running from the front and making crucial moves to push the pace. He closed hard in the final lap and ran a fantastic final time of 4:17 to place second! In the second heat, Thomas Stephens and Lev Robertson both competed well, and Thomas made great moves during the race. Lev kicked hard on the final lap, and crossed the finish line in a time of 4:29 with Thomas right behind him, crossing the finish line in 4:29 as well! In the third heat, Paolo Canigiula competed well to place third in a personal best time of 4:45!
Mary Kate McGranahan won the mile in a personal best time of 5:09, jockeying for the lead early on and took off from her competitors to win the race! Allison Lounsbury hung with a pack for most of the race and she took off with two laps to go and closed hard to place a very close third, running a personal best time of 5:12! Claire Callon, running in the second heat, made a crucial move to keep the pace of the race going and ran hard to the finish line, finishing in a time of 5:31.
Kolya Markov-Riss (3) and Jack O'Hara (2) running the 600
Cody Pierce made a big move on the second lap of the 400, winning his heat in a time of 51.93 seconds and even got spiked during the race! Casie Eifrig placed seventh overall in the women's 400 in a time of 1:00.86, leading a deep squad of 400 runners as Mads Rabb used a great kick in the last 100 meters to win her heat in a time of 1:02.47 to place tenth overall, and in the same heat, Halle Hanna ran a time of 1:03.01 to place thirteenth overall! Caroline Wu and Valerie Finke placed 18th and 19th, running near identical times of 1:03.83 and 1:03.99, respectively!
Kolya Markov-Riss got out hard in the 600, taking the lead through the first lap and holding it to the finish line, winning in a huge personal best time of 1:21! Jack O’Hara moved his way up through the field during the first two laps and made a huge move on the last lap, kicking hard to place second in a huge personal best time of 1:21 as well! Tom Ye set a personal best too, placing twelfth in a time of 1:27! Ava Zielinski made great moves in the second heat of the 600, finishing in a time of 1:42! Artis Phillips competed well in her heat of the 600 as well, placing second in her heat in a time of 1:49!
Adrian Friedman
Adrian Friedman had a fantastic day, placing second in the long jump with a personal best jump of 6.71 meters (22' 0.25")! Yeob Kim competed in the long jump for the first time since 2020 and jumped very well, placing third in a jump of 6.53 meters (21' 5.25")! Zach Villegas placed twelfth with a jump of 5.77 meters (18' 11.25") and Max Spelke placed thirteenth with a season best jump of 5.69 meters (18' 8")! In the women's long jump, Eliza Cardwell placed second with a jump of 5.36 meters (17' 7") and Anastasia Ioppolo placed third with a huge season best jump of 5.28 meters (17' 4")!
Gabe Dos Santos placed second in the triple jump with a huge personal best jump of 13.27 meters (43' 6.5") and Adrian continued his great day, placing seventh in a collegiate best jump of 12.37 meters (40' 7")! Anaya Thomas placed fifth in the triple jump with a season best jump of 10.93 meters (35' 10.5") and Anastasia placed seventh with a jump of 10.60 meters (34' 9.5")!
Alex Robin placed fifth in the high jump, clearing 1.85 meters (6' 0.75") and Gabe Dos Santos placed sixth, clearing the same height! Anaya placed sixth in the high jump, clearing 1.51 meters (4' 11.5")!
Margo Pedersen (1), Sylvan Wold (4), Bella Lozier (3) and Ally Deegan (2) running the 1,000
The women’s 1,000 was a fantastic race for the Mammoths, and all five Mammoths who toed the line set personal bests! Margo Pedersen took the race out hard, and her teammates followed. With two laps to go, Sylvan Wold made a great move for the lead and ran hard to the finish line, winning the race in a huge personal best time of 2:59! Margo placed second in a huge personal best time of 3:00, and Bella Lozier was right behind her in third place, running a personal best time of 3:01! Running out of the second heat, Piper Lentz ran a great race and placed seventh overall, running a personal best time of 3:04 and Ally Deegan placed eighth running a great race as well, setting a personal best by running a time of 3:04 too!
Four Mammoths competed in the first heat of the men's 1,000 and the heat got out hard and the Mammoths positioned themselves well at the front of the race. Gent Malushaga made a great move with one lap to go and placed second in a personal best time of 2:32! Ian Dopp was right behind him in fourth place, and he also ran a personal best time, crossing the finish line in 2:33! Ben Davis ran a great race in fourth place, running a time of 2:33 too! Running out of the second heat, Will Nagy patiently waited behind the race leader for the first three laps and made a move for the lead on the fourth lap and powered through the finish line, winning his heat in a time of 2:34 and placed sixth overall! Braedon Fiume ran in the second heat with Will and ran a great race too, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:35! Aydin Williams ran a strong race, placing ninth overall in a time of 2:36!
In the men's 200, Matt Gelin represented the Mammoths and placed twenty-sixth in a time of 24.56 seconds!
Julia Schor (1), Sophia Price (11) and Ona Ortiz-Gudeman (8)
Five Amherst men competed in the 3k and the race got out well, as they all went through the first mile within a second of one another. George Cahill positioned himself in the front pack for the whole race, ready for any moves that would be made by his competitors. Nick Edwards-Levin sat in the back for the first mile of the race, and gradually moved up the race in the second half, putting himself in a great position in the closing laps. Aidan Gemme, Keon Mazdisnian and Oliver Spiva worked together, ready to close hard. The Mammoths all closed well in the final lap, and George placed second in a tight battle for the win, crossing the finish line in a time of 8:33! Nick used a fabulous kick to place third in a time of 8:35 and got spiked up while making great moves during the race! Keon Mazdisnian placed sixth in a personal best time of 8:40, Oliver Spiva placed seventh in a personal best time of 8:40 as well and Aidan Gemme set a personal best in ninth place in a time of 8:42!
In the women’s 3k, Julia Schor made great moves throughout the race, positioning herself well. Sophia Price and Ona Ortiz-Gudeman sat in a great pack through the first mile, looking smooth. Sophia and Ona both picked up the pace in the second half and with a lap to go, all three Mammoths were closing hard. Julia crossed the finish line in a time of 10:38 to place third, Sophia used a fast last lap to place fourth in a time of 10:38 and Ona also had a speedy last lap, crossing the finish line in fifth in a personal best time of 10:39!
Tom Ye (4) leading off the men's 4x400 relay
Tom Ye led off the Men’s 4x400 relay and gave the Mammoths the lead, running a strong first leg. Ian Dopp received the baton from Tom, running a solid leg. After handing the baton to Jack O’Hara, Jack demolished the field, leaving his competitors far behind him to hand off to Kolya Markov-Riss with a huge lead. Kolya extended that lead, anchoring the Mammoths to victory as they ran a season best time of 3:25 to win the event!
The Mammoths entered “A” and “B” teams in the women’s 4x400 relay, and Eliza led off the “A” team, putting the Mammoths in a great position. Trintje Nydam ran a stellar leg, giving the Mammoths the lead! She handed the baton to Piper Lentz, who ran a strong leg to extend that lead. Casie Eifrig ran a great anchor leg, bringing the Mammoths across the line in first place, finishing in a season best time of 4:03! Caroline Wu led off the “B” team well and handed the baton to Ava Zielinski for the second leg, and Ava ran hard for the full two laps. Margo Pedersen ran a strong third leg and Artis Phillips brought the Mammoths home, placing fourth overall in a time of 4:17!
An all first year squad ran the 4x200 relay, and Val Finke led off the squad. She got out hard and handed off to Mads Rabb, who ran a strong leg! Myeh Medina ran the third leg and ran a competitive leg and Halle Hanna brought the Mammoths across the finish line in third place in a time of 1:48!
Huge thanks to everyone who supported the Mammoths at the meet and from a far! We are so grateful for everyone's support!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Boston University Valentine Invitational on Friday, February 10th and Saturday, February 11th at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts and the Middlebury Field and Track Meet on Saturday, February 11th hosted by Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.