On Friday February 24th and Saturday February 25th, the Mammoths competed at the Division III New England Championships. After two days of competition, the men placed third as a team and the women placed fifth as a team! For the men, it is a program best finish at the meet!
Trintje Nydam on the long jump runway in the Pentathlon
The action on Friday kicked off with the Heptathlon and Pentathlon. In the meet-opening Heptathlon 60 meter dash, Zach Villegas set a personal best with a time of 7.57 seconds and Max Spelke ran a season best time of 7.61 seconds! Trintje Nydam kicked off the Pentathlon with a great race in the 60 hurdles running a time of 9.42 seconds! Next in the Heptathlon is the long jump, and Zach set a personal best with a jump of 5.99 meters (19’ 8”) and Max enjoyed a season best jump with a jump of 5.84 meters (19’ 2”)! Next in the Pentathlon was the high jump and she cleared a season best height of 1.45 meters (4’ 9”)!
Zach, Max and Trintje then travelled to the shot put circle, where Zach set a personal best with a throw of 10.54 meters (34’ 7”), Trintje set a personal best with a throw of 8.35 meters (27’ 4.75”) and Max had a solid throw of 9.65 meters (31’ 8”)! The last event of the day for the Heptathlon was the high jump and Zach set a personal best, clearing 1.73 meters (5’ 8”) and Max set a personal best as well, clearing 1.70 meters (5’ 7”) to end day one of the Heptathlon on a high note!
With two events left in the Pentathlon, Trintje brought her A game, jumping 4.82 meters (15’ 9.75”) in the long jump and ran a personal best in the 800, running a time of 2:33! With the points tallied up, Trintje set a personal best in the Pentathlon with a score of 2,978 points and placed fifth, earning four points for the team!
Bridget Cassata on the pole vault runway
The first open event on Friday was the Men’s 60 Hurdles Preliminaries and Noah Harris ran a strong race, running a time of 8.74 seconds to place fifteenth! In the Women’s 60 Hurdles Preliminaries, Eliza Cardwell won her heat in the fastest time of the day, running a time of 8.83 seconds to advance to Saturday’s final! Anastasia Ioppolo placed second in her heat in a time of 9.20 seconds which as the seventh fastest time of the day advanced her to Saturday’s final! Arissa McGowan ran a strong race, placing third in her heat and tenth overall in a time of 9.37 seconds! In the 60 Meters Preliminaries, Jordan Harrison won his heat in the second fastest time of the day in a time of 6.96 seconds, advancing to Saturday’s final!
Over in the Pole Vault, Alex Robin cleared 4.04 meters (13’ 3”) on his second attempt, placing 21st in the Men’s Pole Vault! In the Women’s Pole Vault, Mia Bawendi cleared 3.18 meters (10’ 5.25”) on her first attempt, placing fifteenth! Jordan Hecker cleared the same height on her second attempt, placing sixteenth! Eve Giancarlo cleared 3.03 meters (9’ 11.25”) placing nineteenth and Bridget Cassata cleared the same height on her second attempt, placing twenty fourth!
In the weight throw, Charlie Spurrell fought hard and threw 16.03 meters (52’ 7.25”) on his second attempt, placing eighth and earning one point for the team!
Sylvan Wold anchoring the Women's Distance Medley Relay
On the oval, the Men’s Distance Medley Relay toed the line in the fastest heat. Nick Edwards-Levin led off the relay in the 1200 leg and he ran a fantastic leg, working his way up through the field to hand off to Cody Pierce for the 400 leg in third place! Cody ran a strong leg and held that position over the course of his two laps around the track! Will Nagy received the baton from Cody and ran a fantastic 800 leg, making a big move with two laps to go to separate himself from the competitors around him, moving the Mammoths from third to second place and making up significant ground on the race leaders. Will Merhige got the baton for the 1600 and ran a fantastic anchor leg, battling the entire eight laps and brought the Mammoths across the finish line in fifth place, earning four points for the team in a season best time of 10:05!
Julia Schor led off the Women’s Distance Medley Relay, and ran a great 1200 leg, making a great move with two laps to go and handed off to Casie Eifrig for the 400 leg in fifth place! Casie ran a fantastic 400 leg and used a strong second lap to put the Mammoths in third place! Ava Zielinski ran the 800 leg with expertise, getting out hard and gradually dropping the competitors behind her, holding the Mammoths position in third place and extending the lead on fourth place by five seconds! Sylvan Wold got the baton for the anchor leg and ran a strong leg, clicking off consistent splits and ran away from the competition, bringing the Mammoths across the finish line in third place, earning six points for the team in a time of 12:13!
The Women’s 4x200 Relay capped off the relay action for the day. Valerie Finke led off for the Mammoths, getting the Mammoths out in a good position. Mads Rabb ran a strong leg, putting the Mammoths in third place at the handoff! Myeh Medina ran a stellar third leg, getting out hard and putting the Mammoths tied with the leaders going into the anchor leg. Myeh and Halle Hanna enjoyed a great handoff and Halle got the baton right with the race leaders. Halle ran a strong anchor leg and brought the Mammoths across the line in third place and tenth overall, a great finish for a relay of all first years!
Yeob Kim on the Long Jump runway
On the infield, several Mammoths were competing in the long jump. In the Men’s Long Jump, Yeob Kim enjoyed a fantastic day, jumping a huge personal best of 7.06 meters (23’ 2”) to place third, earning the Mammoths six points! Adrian Friedman placed seventh and also set a personal best, jumping 6.75 meters (22’ 1.75”) to earn the Mammoths two points! Kelechi Eziri’s third jump was his best, jumping 6.67 meters (21’ 10.75”) to place tenth! In the Women’s Long Jump, Eliza Cardwell saved her best jump for last, jumping 5.57 meters (18’ 3.25”) to place fifth and earn the Mammoths four points! Anastasia Ioppolo jumped 5.21 meters (17’ 1.25”) on her first jump, placing tenth!
The final event of the night was the Women’s 5,000 and the field was separated into two heats. In the first heat, Daphne Theiler, Allison Lounsbury and Claire Callon represented the Mammoths and ran in a tight pack through the first two miles. In the final mile, the pack separated and Daphne Theiler worked her way into the front of the race. With one lap to go, Daphne was even with a competitor and she used a huge kick in the final 100 meters of the race to win the heat in a huge personal best time of 17:55! Allison and Claire ran hard in the final mile, crossing the finish line in times of 18:22 and 18:43, respectively, which earned them sixteenth and nineteenth place, respectively!
Next in the second heat, Mary Kate McGranahan competed in a deep field and competed hard for her teammates, placing fourth in a personal best time of 17:24, earning five points for the team! With the times from the first and second heats combined, Daphne placed ninth overall, improving upon her seed by 13 places!
Max Spelke (1) and Zach Villegas (5) competing in the Heptathlon 60 Hurdles
Day Two of Action got started with the Men’s and Women’s High Jump and it was a great way to start the day for the Mammoths! Cam Heafitz and Gabe Dos Santos both cleared 1.97 meters (6’ 5.5”), earning third and fourth place which together combined to earn the team eleven points! In the Women’s High Jump, Anaya Thomas cleared 1.50 meters (4’ 11”) on her first attempt, placing fourteenth!
The Heptathlon resumed on Saturday with the 60 Hurdles and Max Spelke ran a season best time of 9.53 seconds and Zach Villegas ran a personal best time of 9.78 seconds! Next in the Heptathlon Pole Vault, Max set a personal best by clearing 3.55 meters (11’ 7.75”) and Zach tied his personal best by clearing 3.35 meters (10’ 11.75”)! The 1,000 meter run is the final event of the Heptathlon and Max ran a great race, moving up the field with every lap and kicked hard to run a time of 2:55 and Zach ran a strong race, running a personal best time of 3:01! With the points tallied up from every event, Max placed eighth and scored 4,075 points, earning one point for the team! Zach placed ninth and scored a personal best 4,038 points!
In the Shot Put, David Brown threw 12.35 meters (40’ 6.25”) on his last throw, placing eighteenth!
Jordan Harrison (at the center in a white top) placing second in the 60!
The first running final of the day was the Women’s 60 Hurdles Final and Eliza Cardwell ran a great race, placing second in a time of 8.79 seconds, earning eight points for the team! Anastasia Ioppolo placed seventh in a time of 9.25 seconds, earning two points for the team!
Next in the Men’s 60 Dash Final, Jordan Harrison used a late push to place second in a personal-best tying time of 6.95 seconds, earning eight points for the team!
The next event on the track was the Mile, and the Men’s Mile was first. Nick Edwards-Levin, Aydin Williams and Will Merhige all competed in the same heat, and they all got out well. As the race progressed, they moved up the field. With 300 meters to go, both Aydin and Will had to navigate around a runner who fell and while it slowed their momentum a little, they both closed hard on the last lap! Nick placed twenty second overall in a time of 4:21, Aydin placed twenty sixth in a time of 4:22 and Will placed twenty seventh in a time of 4:22, all solid runs for the Mammoths!
In the Women’s Mile, Ally Deegan and Allison Lounsbury both competed in the second heat of the mile and moved up the field in their heat as they ran by their teammates cheering, “Ally, Allison” on every lap! Ally made a big move with three laps to and pushed the pace all the way to the finish line, placing tenth in a personal best time of 5:12! Allison used her signature speedy last lap to a twelfth place finish in a time of 5:13! Julia Schor competed in the first heat and made a big move with five laps to go, pushing the pace from the front and crossed the finish line in a season best time of 5:14, which placed her thirteenth overall!
Piper Lentz (3) kicking to the finish line in the 800!
In the 400, Mads Rabb placed second in her heat in a time of 1:01.22, which placed her eighteenth overall!
Kolya Markov-Riss competed in the fastest heat of the Men’s 800 in a deep and talented field and positioned himself at the front of the pack. With one lap to go, Kolya kicked hard and powered through the finish line, placing fourth in a time of 1:53! Piper Lentz competed in the fastest heat of the Women’s 800 and employed a great move on the second lap to put herself right in the mix of the pack. She used a great kick on the last lap to distance herself from many of her competitors and crossed the finish line in sixth in her heat and her time of 2:19 placed her seventh overall, earning two points for the team!
Ben Davis, Braedon Fiume and Ian Dopp all competed in the same heat of the Men’s 1,000 and the trio worked together to work their way up the field in the second lap of the race. With two laps to go, Ben Davis made a big move for the lead and his teammates responded and moved further up the race! Ben extended his lead over the course of the last two laps and won his heat in a personal best time of 2:29! Braedon placed fourth in the heat and tenth overall in a personal best time of 2:31 and Ian placed sixth in the heat and twelfth overall in a personal best time of 2:32! With the times from all of the heats, Ben placed fifth overall, earning four points for the team!
Sylvan Wold and Bella Lozier competed in the same heat of the Women’s 1,000 and both got out well in the early laps of the race. With two laps to go, Sylvan launched into her kick and ran hard to the finish line, placing fourth in the heat and fifth overall in a time of 3:00, earning four points for the team! Bella fought hard in the last laps of the race and placed thirteenth!
Annelise Romero Triple Jumping
Jordan Harrison placed tenth in the 200 in a season best time of 22.17 seconds and Cody Pierce placed fifteenth in a season best time of 22.43 seconds!
The Triple Jump was a critical event for the Mammoths and Kelechi Eziri showed up big time, needing just one jump to place third in a season best jump of 13.83 meters (45' 4.5"), earning six points for the team! Gabe Dos Santos placed tenth jumping 13.23 meters (43' 5")! In the Women's Triple Jump, Anastasia Ioppolo placed fifth in a season best jump of 11.35 meters (37' 3"), earning four points for the team! Anaya Thomas placed tenth jumping 11.03 meters (36' 2.25") and Annelise Romero placed eighteenth, jumping 10.59 meters (34' 9")!
Henry Dennen running the 3,000
Next on the track was the 3,000! The fastest heat in the Men's 3,000 got out to a very fast start and Henry Dennen and George Cahill held their own in the speedy heat! With six laps to go, Henry was in sixth place situated between the front pack and the back pack of runners. Henry gradually got faster and passed three runners in those final laps, racing to a third place finish in a personal best time of 8:19, earning six points for the team! George ran a strong race as well, fighting hard in the final laps to place tenth in a personal best time of 8:31! Racing in a different heat, Aidan Gemme ran a patient race, sitting on the race leaders and hanging tough in a fast race. Aidan ran a speedy last lap to place third in his heat and thirteenth overall in a personal best time of 8:33!
Similar to the Men's 3,000, the Women's 3,000 also got out at a fast pace. Mary Kate McGranahan positioned herself well in the lead pack, and Sophia Price positioned herself perfectly in a different pack of runners. As the pace heated up, Mary Kate kept pushing and closed incredibly well in the last two laps, placing fourth in a personal best time of 9:57, earning five points for the team! Sophia ran hard in the final five laps of the race and closed hard on the last lap, powering to a ninth place finish in a personal best time of 10:21! Running in an earlier heat, Ona Ortiz-Gudeman ran a very patient race and smoothly moved up the field throughout the race and she kicked hard to place eighteenth, far outperforming her seed, and ran a personal best time of 10:34!
Casie Eifrig anchoring the 4x400 relay
The last four events of the day were the Men's and Women's 4x400 and 4x800 Relays, and the finishing places of the Mammoth relay teams would be critical to place higher as a team as there was a tight team battle for both the men and women.
Cody Pierce led off the Men's 4x400 relay and ran hard from the gun, handing off to Ellis Phillips-Gallucci right with the competition. Ellis got out hard and fought the whole way, handing off to Jai Dreher for the third leg. Jai ran a strong leg, holding the Mammoths position and he passed the baton to Tom Ye who anchored the Mammoths to a tenth place finish in a time of 3:26!
Eliza Cardwell led off the 4x400 relay for the Mammoths and made a big move with 100 meters to go, putting the Mammoths in second place! Myeh Medina ran an amazing second leg, pulling away from the competition in the final 100 meters of her leg to hand off to Trintje Nydam in first place! The Mammoth cheering section roared as Myeh took the lead, fueling Trintje as she got out well and ran with pure grit in the second lap, handing off to Casie Eifrig in second place! Casie got out hard in the first lap and charged into the final lap, battling to the finish line to place third in the heat and fourth overall in a time of 3:56, earning five points for the team!
Kolya Markov-Riss anchoring the Men's 4x800 Relay to the Win!
Going into the final event, the 4x800 relay, the team scores were even tighter, and the Mammoths had to win the relay to lock up third place and earn a plaque! Not only did the Mammoths have to win their heat, they had to run faster than a time of 7:49 because a team in the earlier heat ran that time.
Braedon Fiume led off the relay and ran patiently in the early laps before grinding to the handoff to give the baton to Will Nagy in third place.
Will ran a terrific leg, getting out hard and gradually reeling in the race leaders in the first two laps before taking the lead with two laps to go! The Mammoth cheering section got even louder as Will held the lead for the final two laps and he handed off to Ben Davis in the lead! Ben immediately charged into the lead and extended it with every lap as the Mammoth fans got louder and louder! Kolya Markov-Riss received the baton in the lead and ran smoothly for all four laps, even when competitors attempted to challenge him. Kolya kicked hard in the final lap with the Mammoths fans roaring and he brought the Mammoths across the finish line in first place in a meet record time of 7:46, faster than the time in the earlier heat to earn the Mammoths the win, ten crucial points and lock up a program high third place finish for the men's team!
Piper Lentz anchoring the Women's 4x800 Relay to the Win!
The team scores were incredibly tight going into the meet-concluding 4x800 Relay and similar to the men, a team in the Women's 4x800 Relay ran a time of 9:35 in an earlier heat, so the Mammoths heat would be a battle between teams and against the clock.
Ally Deegan led off for the Mammoths and ran a gritty first leg, fighting for every inch to hand off to Bella Lozier in fourth place! Bella ran a key leg of the relay, getting out hard to put the Mammoths right in the mix of things as the pace quickened. Bella made an incredible move from fourth to first place in the last 100 meters of her leg and the Mammoth cheering squad erupted as she handed the baton to Ava Zielinski in the lead!
Ava patiently bided her time as a competitor took the lead and on the third lap, she made a big move and fought to the finish line, handing off to Piper Lentz in third place! Piper got out well and gradually caught up to the lead pack, battling it out with her competitors. Piper seized the lead with 100 meters to go and pulled away from the field, charging to the finish line to bring the Mammoths across the line in a time of 9:28, winning the relay and earning ten points for the team as the Mammoth cheering section cheered her on to the victory! With the win, the women locked up a fifth place finish as a team!
It was a fantastic weekend competing at the Division III New England Championships and we couldn't be more grateful for all of the family, friends and alumni who supported the Mammoths in Boston and from a far! The energy from everyone was truly incredible and it fueled the Mammoths to fantastic performances!
NEXT UP for the Mammoths is the Tufts National Qualifying Meet on Saturday, March 4th hosted by Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts!