Coach Erik Nedeau commented on the teams' performances. "We do not have the depth that Williams does, nor even Wesleyan this year, and that showed, but I thought that we gave them a good run," he said. Even though the team placed third, there were still some breakthrough races on a day characterized by beautiful weather. "It was a great day to race and compete, and most people took advantage of it," said Nedeau
Women's Track
After running the 1500-meter, where she knocked four seconds off of her best time, first year Ginger Polich smashed a 26-year-old first year record in the 400-meter hurdles and took second place in the event.
The only first-place finish for the women in the meet was won by Erinn White '04 in the 3000-meter. On White's heels was first-year Jenny Horowitz, who took second. These two women worked together to run away from the rest of the field right off the gun for the day's lone victory. "This was a great way for us to start the meet," said Nedeau.
Later in the meet White and Horowitz debuted in the discus event. They did extremely well for their first time in the field, walking away with seventh- and eighth-place finishes, respectively. "Horowitz and White dominated their debut at the discus," said tri-captain Laurel Kilgour '03.
In the 5000-meter run, in what Dave Molina '05 described as a "breakthrough performance," freshman Margaret Davis ran to a new personal record, nearly a minute faster than her previous best. With this exceptional time of 18:30, Davis took a fifth-place finish.
Carter Hamill '05 led junior Alyson Venti and Polich to great finishes in the 1500-meter. These women placed second, third and fifth, respectively.
In the 400-meter, the Amherst women ran strong. Sophomore Monica Westin ran a really strong final 100-meter to snatch third place with tri-captain senior Alison Stahl right behind her in fifth.
Tri-captains Kate Hamill '03 and Kilgour took fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 800-meter. Both women came within one second of the 2:20 mark. First year Lyndsey Scott was fourth in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and both the long and triple jumps.
Men's Track
Two first-place finishes were the highlight of the men's meet. In the 800-meter, Andrew Schneider '04 won in great time and with a nice kick at the end. Then in the last 200-meters of the 5000-meter run, sophomore Matthew Katz closed a 40-meter gap, winning the race and dropping 20 seconds from his previous personal best.
Sophomore Jason Wagstaff, junior Janak Chandrasoma, tri-captain senior Brian Hart and sophomore Nathaniel Mahlberg earned a hard-fought second-place finish in the 4 x 100-meter relay.
Wagstaff also earned points for the team in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, in the triple and high jumps, and in the pole vault. Wagstaff provided the greatest individual contribution to the team score.
Chandrasoma took another second-place finish, this time an individual in an event, in the 200-meter. These two second-place finishes were also complimented by a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter. Jack Morgan '05, Molina and Schneider joined Chandrasoma in the runner-up 4 x 400-meter relay team, which recorded their fastest time of the season.
In the 1500-meter run, Molina led teammates John Stanton-Geddes '04 and Morgan to fourth, fifth and seventh place finishes, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the steeplechase, senior tri-captain Alex Lenkoski set a new personal record, finishing in fifth place.
Behind Katz in the 5000-meter, battling the heat, were first-year Dave Schreiner, sophomore Zeke Phillips and Evan Guiney '06, who took fifth, sixth, and ninth, respectively, all in good times. Junior Julius Nanna spent the day in the sand, tripling up for the triple, long and high jumps and scoring team points in all three events.
On the field, first year Nicholas Canevari threw a second-place finish in his first attempt at the javelin. He also took third in the shot-put, while setting a new personal record. Sophomore Bradley Backus snatched third and fourth place in the discus and shot-put, setting two new personal records. Junior Gee Roe topped the team's hammer throwers and took fifth place in the event.
Little IIIs is the smallest meet of the season and because only three schools compete, points can be scored by all three schools in all of the events. Many of the runners describe this meet as being the most fun of the season. "It's really cool having people run events they don't usually run." said Molina. "We're all ready for the postseason," he added on a more serious note.
Although there were a number of strong performances during Saturday's meet, both the men's and women's teams were looking to finish higher in the standings.
The team is now entering championship season. "From here on out, we need to have met standards to be able to continue on. Each meet gets tougher to qualify for," said Nedeau. This weekend, Amherst will send a large delegation of athletes to Williams for the NESCAC Championships.