Amherst took charge in the hurdling events. Leading the way for the Jeffs were Nathaniel Mahlberg '05 and co-captain Pat Hayes '03. The pair of runners both claimed second place finishes in the 400m and 110m hurdles, respectively. Mahlberg also took fourth place in the 110m hurdles.
Other top finishes for the Jeff sprinting team include a sixth place run in the 400m dash and a 10th place finish in the 200m run for Janak Chandrasoma '04. Chandrasoma, who enjoyed a stellar indoor season for the Jeffs, is hoping to improve his times even more on the outdoor track and prove his place as one of the top sprinters in New England.
For the distance team, first-year phenom Matt Katz '05 set a personal record in the 5,000m with a time of 15:51. Katz was followed in the same race by John Stanton-Geddes '04 and Zeke Phillips '05, who ran the majority of the race neck-and-neck and finished with times of 16:14 and 16:15, respectively.
Alex Lenkoski '03, who has been putting in strong training efforts all spring, ran the notoriously grueling 10,000 meter run and notched an eighth place finish with a time of 35:58.59.
Andrew Schneider '04 also boasted a strong finish for the Jeffs in the 800m run, his signature event.
For the first large meet of the season, the team seemed fairly satisfied with both their individual and group performances. Even though it wasn't their "best showing," said Stanton-Geddes, "it was a good early season meet to prepare for the future."
"Our coach tells us that anyone can have a good meet," said Chandrasoma, "but that our athletes are judged for how they come together on a bad day. The Trinity meet just didn't click for us, but I feel like we rose to a bad day admirably and had a good attitude."
Phillips agreed that as the season gets warmer, their hard work should begin to show. "[Our] training should begin to pay off and our times should begin to drop," he said.
In addition, the meet was a good preview of the Jeffs' future competitors, as the Jeffs will face many of the same NESCAC teams later in the season during the important championship meets. Amherst also had a chance to see some of the other Division III competition that they'll probably face at the men's Division III New England Meet on May 4. That meet will be held at Springfield College.
Two weekends ago, at the more laid-back Connecticut College Invitational, the team ran to a third place finish in their season opener, while taking first place in numerous events.
The sprinting team was at its best, led by the especially impressive finishes of Jay Wagstaff '05, who claimed first in the 100m dash, Hayes, who placed first in the 110m hurdles, and Mahlberg, who followed Hayes closely in the 110m to take second place and won the 400m hurdles.
Chandrasoma dominated the long sprint events, earning first place status in both the 200m dash and the 400m run.
For the distance runners, Katz once again led the way and scored best for Amherst with his fourth place finish in the 5,000m run, while Schneider and Stanton-Geddes also posted strong times in the 5,000m and 1,500m long and middle distance events.
Next Saturday, the Jeffs will head west to Williamstown to take on the Williams College Ephs, as well as a number of other fast-paced teams at the Williams Relays.