Track and field performs admirably at NESCACs

The Middlebury Track and Field team came through with an outstanding performance this weekend at NESCAC Championships at Wesleyan University. The women’s team came in second, beat only by Williams, while the men came in third behind Williams and Bates. There were many standout performances in the meet, with several athletes breaking school records and qualifying for NCAA Championships.
Senior Kaitlynn Saldanha ’11 followed up on a season-long streak of great races with a first place finish in the 800m, setting a new NESCAC meet record and school record. Her time of 2:11.15 was also good enough to secure her a spot at NCAA’s. Other first place finishers were Mia Martinez ’12 in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.89 and Annie Rowell ’11 in the 100m with a time of 12.82. Martinez’s time was good enough to provisionally qualify for NCAA’s. Junior Margo Cramer ’12 continued her impressive season with a first place finish for the women in the 3000m steeplechase; Cramer also finished second behind Saldanha in the 800m. The women also had impressive showings in team events, with both the women’s 4 x 400m relay and 4 x 800m bringing home first-place finishes. The 4 x 400m team was made up of Saldanha, Sarah O’Brien ’13, Tory Sheffield ’14, and Juliet Ryan Davis ’13; Ryan-Davis also placed second in the 400m race. The 4 x 800m relay team was comprised of Cramer, Rebecca Fanning ’12, and seniors Cailey Condit ’11 and Erin Toner ’11. Finally, Grace Doering ’13 had another great contest, placing second in the high jump with a jump of 5’5”. Senior tri-captain Katy Magill ’11 was thrilled with the team’s performance. “This week was an all-around stellar performance for the team.  So many people really stepped up and did better than expected. The entire team also did a fabulous job of supporting each other, and the energy and enthusiasm at the meet was really exciting.”
For the men, Peter Hetzler ’14 continued his impressive season with a first place finish in the 200m, while sophomore Jack Davies ’13 took first in the 3000m steeplechase. The men’s DMR team, made up of tri-captain Addison Godine ’11.5, Louis Cornacchione ’13, Davies and Michael Schmidt ’12, carried winter season success into the NESCAC meet, bringing home a first place finish with a time of 10:31.31. Schmidt also took first place in the 10,000m. Finally, Jack Terrett ’11 had a great race in the 5000m, finishing second. Tri-captain Alice Wisener remarked on the entire team’s performance, noting that it “came really close to winning.” She also noted, “The men’s and women’s teams, in combination, did the best ever in the program’s history.” The track and field team clearly has much to be proud of from the NESCAC meet, and will look to improve upon that success at the upcoming NCAAs.