Individual Performances Highlighted at Winterfell

    The Middlebury Winterfell took place this past weekend on Saturday, Jan. 19 on home turf.  The team continued its strong start with bold performances from both the men and the women.

“The team’s goal right now is the same as every year, I feel.  To get as many people to qualify for championship meets like DIII New Englands, Open New Englands, and Nationals, have everyone healthy to compete hard in outdoor, and keep the morale and spirit of the team at an all-time high,” said Minhaj Rahman ’19.

At the Middlebury Winterfell, the women earned 108 points to get them third place out of a total field of four teams. The University of Vermont took first place with 232 points, and McGill University placed second with 136 points. Ellie Greenberg ’20 secured the first-place spot with a time of 8.39 in the 60-meter dash. In the 200-meter dash, Gretchen McGrath ’21 won second place with her time of 26.73.  Lucy Lang ’19 and Emma Hills ’22 participated in the 600-meter run and placed second and fourth, respectively. Lang recorded a time of 1:38.61, while Hills came in at 1:41.68.  Helene Rowland ’20, Emma Walsh ’21 and Julia Lothrop ’19 played key roles in Middlebury’s success in the shot put event.  Rowland claimed first place with a throw of 11.95 meters, Walsh came in fourth with 8.79 meters, and Lothrop followed close behind, taking fifth with 8.78 meters.

With a home crowd behind them, the Panther men placed second out of the total field of four teams with 166 points. The University of Vermont edged the Panthers with a total of 243 points for the first spot. There were several key contributors in the 600-meter run. Jimmy Martinez ’19 picked up first place with a time of 1:20.86. William Robertson ’21, Arden Coleman ’20 and Josh Howard ’19 trailed Martinez, coming in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 1:24.10, 1:24.61 and 1:25.93.

“I was happy with my performance, given that the 600 is longer than my usual event,” Martinez stated.  “It felt good getting a PR, especially this early in the season.”

Jon Perlman ’19 and Max Memeger ’21 both took home first place in their events. Perlman earned his win with a time of  4:16.66 in the one-mile run. Max Memeger ’21 triumphed in the long jump with a jump of 6.16 meters.  Rahman placed first in the weight throw with a throw of 18.26 meters, which beat the previous record that he had set just last week.

“I was impressed with everyone who raced, especially some of the distance boys who opened their indoor season this week,” Martinez said.

The team’s next meet will be the Middlebury Invitational, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26.  Hopefully the Panthers will continue to build upon their success and thrive with another home-field advantage. 

With regard to the team’s preparation for this meet, Perlman said, “It’s still early in the season, so our training will stay pretty intense for the next few weeks.”

Martinez added, “The goal for next week is to keep getting in better shape.… I’m very excited for what this team can do.”

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