On Saturday, January 14th the Mammoths opened up the track and field season at the Little 3 Championships. The men won the Little 3 Championships, earning the team title for the second year in a row and overall the team finished second in the combined team championship.
Charlie Spurrell competing in the weight throw
The field events kicked off the action at the meet and first year Charlie Spurrell started the day on a high note, leading a 1-2-3 sweep for the Mammoths in the weight throw and winning with a throw of 15.90 meters (52' 2") which is third all-time at Amherst! David Brown placed second in a personal best throw of 14.32 meters (46' 11.75") and Jack Renda placed third in a personal best throw of 13.00 meters (42' 8")!
At the same time the Mammoths swept the men's weight throw, Adrian Friedman won the long jump with a jump of 6.58 meters (21' 7.25")! Teammates Kelechi Eziri placed third, jumping 6.35 meters (20' 10") and Zach Villegas jumped 5.82 meters (19' 1.25").
George Cahill winning the mile
The men's mile was a fantastic race for the Mammoths where all the men ran great races. Employing a well-timed kick, first year George Cahill won in a time of 4:20, running a stellar race! Will Merhige made crucial moves mid race and placed fourth in 4:22, a great race for the senior! Aidan Gemme led the second heat of the mile nearly gun to tape, winning the heat in a time of 4:26! Keon Mazdisnian ran a great race as well, placing third in his heat in a time of 4:30!
In the women's mile, Allison Lounsbury placed third in a great race, moving up the field throughout the race to run a time of 5:18! Sophia Price placed seventh in a time of 5:33 and Julia Gentin was next across the line in a time of 5:49, both running strong races. Annika Paylor fought to the line to place 10th!
The Mammoths went swept the 60 hurdles, as Eliza Cardwell won in a time of 9.14 seconds, Trintje Nydam placed second in a time of 9.48 seconds and Arissa Grace McGowan placed third in a time of 9.49 seconds! For Arissa, it was a great debut for the first year as she set a personal best in the event! Bridget Cassata set her second personal best of the day, running a time of 9.90 seconds in the hurdles! And Annelise Romero placed ninth in a time of 11.43 seconds in the event. Max Spelke placed third in the 60 hurdles in a time of 9.63 seconds and teammates Alex Robin and Cam Heafitz both competed well, placing fourth and fifth respectively in times of 10.48 and 10.54 seconds.
Jack O'Hara (4) and Ben Davis (right) running the 600
In the 400, Cody Pierce enjoyed a solid Mammoth debut, placing third in a time 51.94 seconds with Ellis Phillips-Gallucci just behind him in fourth place in a time of 52.00 seconds! Casie Eifrig placed second in the 400 in a great race, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:00.90! While the race results will show that Halle Hanna was unfortunately disqualified for running a few steps inside of the track, the first year competed fearlessly!
Jack O'Hara ran a stellar race in the 600, winning in a personal best time of 1:23.40! Ben Davis competed well, crossing the finish line in third place and a time of 1:25.03! Tom Ye competed well in the second heat, placing second in the heat in a time of 1:28.71. Margo Pedersen placed sixth in the 600, running a personal best time of 1:46.74 and Artis Phillips placed ninth, running hard the whole race.
Ben Bell placed fourth in the 60 meter dash, running a time of 7.13 seconds! Alex Nichols enjoyed a great Mammoth debut, placing fifth in a time of 7.18 seconds! Yeob Kim set a personal best in his first meet since 2020, running a time of 7.29 seconds! Marshall Richardson competed well, placing ninth in a time of 7.81 seconds. Myeh Medina and Caroline Wu kicked off their Mammoth debut with solid races, placing sixth and tenth in times of 8.46 and 8.99 seconds, respectively!
Kolya Markov-Riss won the 800 in a great race, winning in a time of 1:55! Braedon Fiume placed fourth in a good effort in a time of 2:01. Bella Lozier placed third in the 800 in a competitive race, running a time of 2:25. Ava Zielinski placed fifth in a great effort, running a time of 2:30!
Mia Bawendi clearing a bar in the pole vault
Mia Bawendi placed second in the pole vault, clearing 3.30 meters (10' 10"), leading the Mammoths vaulters in a great day! Eve Giancarlo placed third by clearing 3.15 meters (10' 4") and Jordan Hecker and Payton Sorensen cleared the same bar, placing fifth and seventh, respectively. For Payton, it was a personal best jump! Bridget Cassata set a personal best, clearing a height of 2.85 meters (9' 4.25") and placed ninth! In the men's pole vault, Max Spelke set a personal best, clearing 3.40 meters (11' 1.75") to place third!
Anaya Thomas won the high jump in a personal best jump of 1.58 meters (5' 2.25")! Annelise Romero placed fifth in the high jump, clearing 1.43 meters (4' 8.25") and Trintje Nydam placed sixth, clearing 1.38 meters (4' 6.25"). In the men's high jump, Gabe Dos Santos tied his personal best with a jump of 1.90 meters (6' 2.75") to place second! Cam Heafitz placed third with a jump of 1.80 meters (5' 10.75")
Jordan Harrison (4) getting out of the blocks in the 200
Ian Dopp won the 1,000 in a tight race, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:38! Aydin Williams and Gent Malushaga also ran well, competing well in the tight race, placing third and fourth, respectively, and they both ran a time of 2:40! Sylvan Wold and Piper Lentz both ran well in the 1,000, where Sylvan placed third in a personal best time of 3:06 and Piper enjoyed a great Mammoth debut, running a time of 3:09 in her first time ever competing in the event!
Jordan Harrison starred in his Mammoth debut, winning the 200 by a full second, crossing the finish line in a time of 23.17 seconds! Theo Woodward competed well, placing fourth in a time of 24.57 seconds! First years Valerie Finke and Mads Rabb both ran well in the 200, placing third and fifth in time os 27.46 seconds and 27.78 seconds, respectively!
Bethany Martin competing in the weight throw
Bethany Martin won the weight throw with a throw of 11.27 meters (36' 11.75") and first year Morgan Rome stepped up and competed in the event for the first time, placing sixth in the event! In more familiar territory, Morgan placed second in the shot put with a throw of 10.35 meters (33' 11.5") and Bethany Martin placed sixth with a throw of 9.30 meters (30' 6.25")!
David Brown won the shot put with a throw of 13.99 meters (45' 10.75") and Jack Trent placed fifth with a throw of 12.10 meters (39' 8.5"), earning points towards the Mammoths team score. Charlie Spurrell placed sixth with a throw of 11.96 meters (39' 3"), Max Spelke placed 10th with a throw of 10.32 meters (33' 10.25"), Cam Heafitz set a personal best with his throw of 8.92 meters (29' 3.25") for 12th place and first year Temidayo Bambe placed 13th with a throw of 8.02 meters (26' 3.75") in his Mammoth debut!
Eliza Cardwell won the long jump, winning with a jump of 5.44 meters (17' 10.25") and Anastasia Ioppolo placed third with a jump of 4.91 meters (16' 1.5")! A Mammoth won both the men's and women's triple jumps as Anaya Thomas won her second event of the day, winning with a jump of 10.44 meters (34' 3") and Kelechi Eziri won with a jump of 13.44 meters (44' 1.25"). Anastasia Ioppolo placed second with a jump of 10.05 meters (32' 11.75") in the women's triple jump and Gabe Dos Santos and Adrian Friedman placed third and fourth with jumps of 12.09 meters (39' 8") and 12.07 meters (39' 7.25")!
Mary Kate McGranahan (4) en route to winning the 3,000
Mary Kate McGranahan took the lead and ran away from the field en route to winning the 3,000 in a personal best time of 10:22! With her victory, Mary Kate earned her second Little 3 Championship of the year as she won the Cross Country Little 3 Championship race too! Claire Callon hung with a strong pack throughout the race and fought hard to the line and was rewarded with a personal best time of 10:38 to place third! Ona Ortiz-Gudeman put herself in great positions throughout the race and placed fifth in a time of 10:54!
The men's 3k was divided into two heats and in the faster heat, Henry Dennen ran a savvy race, as the first year pushed the pace at crucial points in the race. He placed fourth in a stellar time of 8:39! Drew Stephens ran a strong race as well, placing sixth in a time of 8:48! In the second heat, Oliver Spiva and Luke Munch took the lead and worked together, going 1-2 in the heat and running times of 8:58 and 9:00, respectively! Thomas Stephens and Daniel Martin placed 11th and 13th, respectively, and opened up their seasons with strong races.
Kolya Markov-Riss leading off the 4x800 relay
The two final events of the day were the 4x800 and 4x400 relays and with a tight battle for the combined team champion, every point mattered. Kolya Markov-Riss led off the men's 4x800 and ran a great leg, giving the Mammoths a great lead. Jack O'Hara only extended that lead, and passed the baton to George Cahill in a great position. George held the lead and Ben Davis brought the Mammoths home, as the relay ran a time of 8:09! With all men running the relay as their second event of the day in a short meet, it was an impressive effort and great display of their strength at endurance.
Bella Lozier led off the women's 4x800, running a strong leg, and handed the baton to Margo Pedersen. Margo had a great kick on the last lap and put the Mammoths in a great position. Piper Lentz and Allison Lounsbury held the Mammoths position and helped the Mammoths placed second in a time of 10:04! For all four women, it was their second event of the day and with three of four being first years, they all stepped up for the team big time!
Trintje Nydam (4) running the second leg of the 4x400 relay
The Mammoths entered two relay teams in both the men's and women's 4x400 relay, and the Mammoths 'A' team placed second in both! Eliza Cardwell led off the women's A team and handed the baton to Trintje Nydam, who ran a fantastic second leg. Anastasia Ioppolo ran a strong third leg and Casie Eifrig ran a great anchor leg, taking the Mammoths from third to second place! Annelise Romero led off the 'B' team, and handed the baton to first year Myeh Medina for the second leg, where Myeh ran a great leg! Myeh passed the baton to Caroline Wu, who also ran a great leg and Sylvan Wold brought the Mammoths across the finish line, flexing as the mid-distance runner showed off her speed!
Tom Ye (left) and Jai Dreher (center) leading off the 4x400 relay teams
Jai Dreher led off the Mammoths 'A' team in the men's 4x400 and he ran a great opening leg in his first race as a Mammoth! Jai handed the baton to Noah Harris, who ran also competed for the first time as a Mammoth! Ian Dopp ran the third leg and used the momentum from his win in the 1,000 to propel him to a great relay leg. He handed the baton to Ellis Phillips-Gallucci who ran a strong anchor leg to bring the Mammoths across the line in second place! Tom Ye led off the 'B' team and ran a good leg, handing the baton to Braedon Fiume who ran a strong second leg. Braedon handed the baton to Max Spelke who ran a solid third leg and Zach Villegas anchored the Mammoths home as the 'B' team consistently was competitive with the 'A' teams from every school throughout the race.
The men celebrating winning the Little 3 Championship!
With the final points tallied, the Mammoths finished second in the combined team competition and the men won the Little 3 Championships! The seniors will leave Amherst as back-to-back Little 3 Champions after the winning the meet as first years in 2020 as the meet was not held in 2021 and not scored in 2022 due to covid.
We had a great time competing at the Little 3 Championships and are so grateful for everyone who came and supported the Mammoths!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Middlebury Winter Classic, hosted by Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The action will start on Friday, January 20 with the multi events and continue with the second day of the heptathlon and all track and field events on Saturday, January 21.