Men
Sophomore Tomas Morrissey made an impressive showing in the 5,000-meter run, getting an NCAA provisional qualifier time and destroying his old personal record with a scorching time of 14:52.57, good for third place. "If Tomas stays healthy, he'll almost definitely get the school record," said junior co-captain Sam Hayman.
With some team members resting, the meet served as an opportunity for first-years to shine. "Probably the most important thing about this meet is that it got the first-years' feet wet and gave them a chance to get a race under their belts," said Head Coach Erik Nedeau.
First-years Jack Kiley and Steve Stewart made the biggest splash for the men's team, with Kiley finishing fourth in the 800-meter run and Stewart crossing the tape ninth in the 500-meter run.
Returning runners got the job done as well. In the 800-meter run, Hayman finished fifth, right on Kiley's heels, and sophomore Romulo Cabeza finished tenth. Hayman and Kiley, along with sophomore transfer Basile Beaty and Stewart finished the 4x400-meter relay in fifth place with a time of 3:26.00.
Senior co-captain Tim Porter, who came in 19th in the 500-meter run, teamed with sophomores Stephen Shashy, Ben Read and Cabeza in the 4x400-meter relay and placed 22nd. Shashy led the sprinters with a 47th-place finish in the 400-meter run and a 70th-place finish in the 200-meter dash.
David Pechman '08 also performed strongly, coming in 57th in the 400 and 77th in the 200. Read was the top Amherst harrier in the mile run, taking 44th place.
Women
The most impressive races for the women took place in the 5,000-meter run. Sophomore Heather Wilson got a personal record and finished fourth in 17:56.71. Classmate Kim Partee crossed the line eight seconds earlier, good for a second-place finish and a NCAA provisional qualification.
In the 4x400-meter relay, two Amherst teams finished in the top 20. Crossing the line in 11th place at 4:15.57 was senior co-captain Julia Rucker, juniors Maria Millard and Keyonte Sutherland and first-year Carly Levenson. In 18th place was a team made entirely of first-years: Mariana Palacios, Kathryn Loomis, Lia Tsarnas and Kate Silverman.
Sutherland led the sprinters with a 23rd-place finish in the 400 meter-run, with Palacios coming in 35th. In the 200-meter dash, Sutherland seized 37th and Loomis finished right behind in 39th. Three Amherst runners ended up in the top 20 in the 500-meter run, led by Millard in 13th place. Levenson and Silverman followed with 14th- and 18th-place showings respectively. Another first-year, Jenny Mancino, leaped her way to a 20th-place finish in the high jump.
Strong showings by both men and women first-years and improvement by the returnees proved the depth of these teams. Nedeau has no reason to be anything but happy with his team this early in the season. "It's still very early for track, so we were mainly running off strength from the cross [country] season," said Hayman.
With the team's cross-country runners returning rested, the homecoming of stand-outs who are currently abroad (especially junior All-American John Babbott) and intense training over Interterm all coming soon, the future looks bright for both the men's and women's indoor track teams.