Six Top Finishes Pace Track and Field at Amherst Spring Fling Meet

As the season is still in its early stages for the men’s and women’s outdoor track team, the runners are trying their best to build up momentum. Their early successes will be crucial for confidence building.

“We definitely exceeded our expectations,” Nick Hendrix ’20 said in reference to some of the Panthers’ previous meets. “To get off a flight on Friday and then win the PLNU Invitational the next day was a fantastic way to start the season. We had some excellent individual performances from some of our more experienced athletes, and the freshmen had some really encouraging performances.”

The spring trip, while challenging, has the track and field teams feeling prepared for the meets ahead.

“I think everyone was a bit tired going into the second meet after a week of hard training in the sun,” said Hendrix in reference to the California Collegiate Open, in which the Panthers partook over the spring trip. “We held our own against some high-caliber competition, including some DI schools, so I think this bodes very well for us going into the rest of the season.”

“People came in with a positive attitude, which helped us perform well,” added Katie Glew ’21.

All of this is good news for the Panthers, as the conference meet and DIII New Englands are only a few short weeks away. Due to the pace of the schedule, there is no time to waste. Improvements and getting the team to bond together will have to occur quickly.

On Saturday, April 7, the Panthers continued their success as they participated in the Amherst Spring Fling. Both the men and women came in fourth in total fields of seven teams.

The men were able to score 49 points at the meet, which WPI won.

Some important performers include Nathan Hill ’20, who was able to come in first in the 1500-meter race with a time of 4:00.40. In this race, Will Meyer ’20 came in fifth with a time of 4:04.00.

A time of 15:23.44 netted Theo Henderson ’20 a first-place finish in the 5000-meter race. Henderson was followed by Henry Fleming ’20, who had a time of 15:38.79 to get fourth place. Also, Minhaj Rahman ’19 threw a distance of 51.80 meters to capture first in the hammer-throw event.

The women’s team amassed 72 points, 17 behind the first place finishers, WPI.

There were several important performers for the women’s team. In the 400-meter dash, Gretchen McGrath ’21 and Kai Milici ’21 placed sixth and seventh, respectively. McGrath had a time of 1:03.30, and Milici had a time of 1:03.38. Abigail Nadler ’19 and Read Allen ’18 were able to capture the top two spots of the 5000-meter run with times of 17:47.34 and 18:12.81, respectively. Also, Panthers placed in each of the top three spots in the shot-put event. Helene Rowland ’20 got first-place honors by throwing 11.58 meters. Rowland was followed by Lauren Boyd ’21, whose toss went 10.46 meters, and Kiera Dowell ’20, who threw 9.88 meters.

“The team’s level of performance was good considering the elements,” said Meyer, the fifth-place finisher in the men’s 1500-meter race. “It was windy and in the high 30s for most of the day. We had a couple personal bests and performed well relative to the competition, winning several events.”

The excitement for what the outdoor season has to offer is growing, and hopefully that will lead to success.

“We have a really strong and supportive team this year,” said Glew, adding, “We’re definitely capable of accomplishing a lot this season.”

The track and field teams will host the Panther Spring Invitational tomorrow and Saturday, April 13–14. The festivities tomorrow are slated to begin at noon. Catch the Panthers as they hope to stay on track and continue to get settled into the season.