To cap off a great week, the rest of the men's and women's team also had a strong showing at the Wesleyan University Invitational the following day in Middletown, Conn., particularly a number of runners who are still adjusting to new events they are competing in this season.
Senior tri-captain Aly Venti and Shauneen Garrahan '07 helped push each others' limits to set a pair of personal records as they crossed the 3k finish line less than one second apart at the Terrier Classic.
"[Garrahan] and I raced really well together. It made all the difference having her in the race with me because we were able to work together, just like in practices," said Venti.
The tandem mimicked their performances from Amherst's highly successful fall cross country season. Venti and Garrahan consistently finished races near one another to help lead the Jeffs to a fifth-place finish at the national competition.
Meanwhile, another cross country speedster made her own tracks at the Terrier competition. Hamill qualified for the NCAA Championship meet with her school record breaking time of 16:32.45 in the 5k.
Hamill surpassed the school record by 34 seconds and ran the seventh-fastest 5k ever run by a Div. III runner to finish seventh place overall in the race.
"Carter's 16:32 is an absolutely phenomenal 5k time for this early in the season. Her confidence is clear and it will be exciting to see how much faster she can get by Nationals," said senior tri-captain Helen Dole.
At the Cardinal Invitational at Wesleyan the next day, sophomores Ariel Haney and Lyndsey Scott started the meet off on a positive note with a one-two sweep in the high jump. Haney and Scott shared a height of 5'2" that also broke the school record.
Haney and Scott went on to join junior tri-captain Monica Westin and Julia Rucker '06 in the winning 4 x 400m relay race. The four finished in a time of 4:14.83.
The two second place finishes for the women were senior Erinn White's first experience this season in a distance race in the 5000m and Alison Rodriguez '05 in the 3000m.
"[White] ran a gutsy race in the 5k to finish second. She had to pace herself for most of the race as the leader was out in front by a good deal and the rest of the pack was much further back," said Dole. "Maintaining pace like she did over 25 laps is a formidable task."
The men also had a rewarding day with scattered wins throughout their events.
Junior Jack Morgan took first place in the 800m with a time of 1:57.95. "[Morgan] ran a fierce 800 to win the men's race at the invitational," said senior tri-captain Janak Chandrasoma.
Morgan then joined the rest of the 4x800m relay team, which also included senior tri-captain Andrew Schneider, John Babbott '07 and Dave Molina '05, in a remarkable win in the face of challenging competition provided by a Coast Guard team.
Chandrasoma discussed the 4x800 relay at length. "[Schneider] had a great opening leg, followed by an impressive leg by [Babbott]," he said.
Morgan ran the third leg of the race, and "at the end of that leg [Morgan] was the only runner left standing, and anchor [Molina] was left to clean up the mess. They won impressively."
"Everyone is running well," added Babbott. "We have particular depth in the mid-distance events, and as a result we have won or had a strong showing in individual and relay competition."
The men continued to persevere in the distance races. In the 1500m, junior Mike Page took home the victory with a time of 4:04.16 while Molina finished not far behind in third place. Schneider also went on to take the runner-up slot in the 1000m run. In his first 5000k of the season, first-year Cooper Knowlton claimed a solid third.
The men and women's teams look to continue their momentum as they travel to Medford next Saturday for the second Tufts Invitational of the season.