Following Garrahan in the 5000m at Trinity were junior Carter Hamill, senior co-captain Aly Venti and sophomore Margaret Davis, who finished second, sixth and eighth, respectively. Hamill and Garrahan's times qualified both provisionally for the NCAAs. Hamill also placed fourth in the 1500m, while Erinn White '04, though not placing, ran one of her best 1500m races.
"Shauneen and Carter dominated the field as usual in their first races back from Nationals," said senior men's tri-captain Janak Chandrasoma. "Erinn also had a solid race, and we hope for her to continue to improve as she caps off her last season."
"Carter and Shauneen ran an awesome 5k, working together the entire way and only missing the automatic NCAA qualifier by nine seconds," said Venti. "Overall the team did really well despite the cold and rain, which made it very difficult to produce fast times."
In the 3000m steeplechase, junior Alison Rodriguez lowered her personal record by four seconds and placed runner-up. Classmate Lee-Jay Henry placed third in both the long jump and triple jump, and also ran well in the 100m and 200m. After running the 400m leg successfully in past relays, sophomore Julia Rucker ran her first open 400m and placed sixth. Kristine Morin '06 placed sixth in the 100m hurdles and also bested the 100-foot mark in her javelin throw and ran a solid 200m. Morin, Rucker and classmates Ginger Polich and Lyndsey Scott collaborated for a second-place finish in the 4x400m relay.
"Kristine had a standout day in the javelin," said senior co-captain Helen Dole. "Rodriguez raced to a personal best and a second-place finish in the steeple chase despite the rainy cold conditions. Julia Rucker also ran very fast in the open 200s and 400s."
Though the women who had competed at the previous week's NCAA Championships did not run, the Jeffs gave a fine performance at Conn. on March 27 with a seventh place finish. Henry led the way with a first-place finish in the triple jump and a runner-up performance in the long jump.
The men also ran well at Trinity, and the strong effort of a number of Jeffs in the 5000m was testament to that fact. Page's second-placed finish led teammates Dave Molina '05, John Stanton-Geddes '04 and Dave Schreiner '06 to a 7-8-10 finish, respectively. In the 800m, senior tri-captain Andrew Schneider came in fourth and first-year John Babbott finished eighth.
"John and Andrew ran a pair of very impressive 800 legs," said Chandrasoma. "Their contributions this season speak well of our team depth, and we look for Andrew to accomplish big things his senior year."
Chandrasoma took fifth place in the 200m dash while Sam Hayman '07 came in eighth in the 400m. The men's 4x400m relay also took runner-up position as Chandrasoma joined Jon Ettinger '07, Hayman and Tim Porter '06 to contribute a strong performance.
"I was impressed with our toughness at Trinity," said Chandrasoma. "It was not exactly the best day to compete, but our coaches always tell us that it's not how you compete on the good days that makes you a good runner, it's how you compete on the bad days."
At Conn. the weekend before the men were also missing a number of runners who had just returned from NCAAs. However, they still managed a solid fifth-place finish. Jay Wagstaff '05 placed second in the 100m while Chandrasoma finished second in the 200m and placed sixth in the 400m.
"Wagstaff ran an outstanding 100m," said Chandrasoma. "He is such a talented athlete with so much potential. We expect big things from him this season."
Ettinger had a successful field day, placing second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump. In the longer distance races, Stanton-Geddes came in third in the 1500m, while Schneider placed sixth in the 800m race.
Stanton-Geddes' performance impressed teammates and opponents alike. "[He] made his presence known at the first meet of the season, which bodes well for a dominant senior year," said Chandrasoma.
The relay teams also started off the spring season strongly. Chandrasoma joined Ettinger, Wagstaff and Mark Hannon '07 in the 4x100m to place third. The 4x400m relay of Stanton-Geddes, Schneider, Babbott and Sam Hayman '07 also came in third.
The team will travel to Williamstown this weekend for the Williams Relays. Although they're off to a great start in the outdoor season, the Jeffs expect even better results and performances.
"Our team was upbeat despite the rainy conditions, and everyone is looking to improve on their performances next week at Williams," said Dole.