In their final meet before NESCAC Championships, the track teams competed in the University of Albany Spring Classic, hosted by SUNY-Albany on Saturday, April 18. The meet was not scored but served as a tune-up for the NESCAC meet as well as a last chance to improve seed times for the championships.
Alex Morris ’16 led the women’s team with a second-place finish in the 400m, clocking a time of 59.28, her best time this spring season. She enters the NESCAC meet ranked fifth in the event. Carly Andersen ’16 was also a runner-up, throwing the javelin 38.30m. In addition to her success in the javelin, Andersen also set a personal best in the hammer, throwing 36.72m for a seventh place finish.
Throwers have a difficult job in track: while all throwing events are grouped under one umbrella, they require different skill sets.
“Each week is different in terms of how I feel going into practices, so I focus on prioritizing the throws and technique I feel the least confident in before the weekend’s competition,” Anderson said. “Meets are unpredictable and it’s difficult to transition quickly from javelin to hammer to discus, but what makes throwing multiple events great is that there’s the chance to refocus and recollect yourself each time you step onto the runway or into the circle.”
Andersen makes up one half of the best javelin duo in the NESCAC; rookie Devon Player ’18 — who did not compete at Albany — is ranked second in the NESCAC behind Andersen, and the two teammates have made one another better.
“Devon is a great addition to the javelin squad and I think we’ve both benefitted from pushing and critiquing each other during practices and competitions,” Anderson said. “Constructive competition is key to throwing well and getting those person records — it’s too easy to focus on your attention inward during practices, so having a little teammate pressure, rivalry, and insight is crucial going into a meet environment.”
Robin Vincent ’18, who had a successful winter season, made her spring season debut by running the 1500m, finishing third with a time of 4:48.10, a personal best. Emma McGuirk ’15 was another third-place finisher in the triple jump, leaping to a distance of 10.49m.
Like the women, the men also had a second-place finish in the 400m. Rookie James Mulliken ’18 ran a personal best of 50.76 in his second attempt at the distance this year. Classmate Chony Aispuro ’18 also took second in the 1500m by running 4:02.74 and later doubled back in the 800m, running 2:02.62 for eighth place.
The 4x100m relay team of Sam Rives ’15, Mike Pallozzi ’18, Fritz Parker ’15 and Will Bain ’15 finished third and was the second collegiate team to finish, teaming up to run 43.02, its best time of the year.
In the field, Ian Riley ’16 was third in javelin, chucking the spear 51.19m.
Several distance runners, meanwhile, travelled to Princeton University on Friday, April 17 to compete in the Larry Ellis invitational.
Of the men competing at Princeton, Kevin Serrao ’18 impressed with a personal best finish of 1:54.46 in the 800m, just ahead of teammate Lukey Carpinello ’16 in 1:55.33. Kevin Wood ’15 ran 14:50.11 in the 5,000m for Middlebury.
On the women’s side, Alison Maxwell ’15 was the top Division-III finisher in the 1,500m in 4:34.51. Fellow All-American miler Sarah Guth ’15 trailed just behind Maxwell in 4:35.74. Katie Carlson ’15 also impressed in the 5,000m, running 17:44.98.
Maxwell’s performance at Princeton earned subsequently earned her NESCAC Runner of the Week honors. Her time in the 1,500m is among the 10 fastest in Division III this year.
The next meet for the teams is NESCAC Championships on April 25, hosted by Williams. Last year, the men finished a program-best second and the women finished third.
The men, in search of their first title, will face stiff competition from two-time defending champion Tufts and from Williams. The women’s teams from Williams and Tufts will also be the challengers to the Middlebury women, who last won in 2000. Williams has won every year since 2001 except for 2013 when Tufts won on their home track and the Ephs finished a distant fourth.
“We expect to be competitive in every event,” Parker said. “The seeds and marks coming in are irrelevant – all we care about is beating people. Whether it’s for first place or eighth, we expect to outperform our seeds and scrap our way up the scoreboard by meet’s end.
Parker suggested that the team’s balance will help them as they look to improve on last year’s finishes.
“”We have a much more balanced team than in years past,” Parker said. “For the first time since I’ve been here, we should be scoring points pretty equally between throws, jumps, sprints and distance. That sort of balance goes a long way in a meet as competitive as NESCACs.”
