Fortunately, the Jeffs tried their best to ignore the uncooperative weather and succeeded in earning many top finishes in the invitational, which included all of the usual individual events along with some typical and some rare relay events. Despite many fast times and top-three finishes, a fair number of Jeffs were unable to compete at full strength due to illness.
"We had some pretty good performances, but we also seemed to be a bit under the weather," said Head Coach Erik Nedeau. "Some kids were sick and not able to run, and others were either getting over the 'bug' going around, or just getting hit with it."
Women
The women saw success in a myriad of events on Saturday. Shauneen Garrahan '07 endured the coldness of the water pit and bested the competition by over a minute to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase, despite developing a mild case of frost bite in her foot. "It was very cold. I couldn't feel my toes by the end of the race," said Garrahan. "It was pretty extreme, but I was still able to enjoy it. The race was fun but painful."
Garrahan won her first personal national championship in the event last year, and is preparing to defend that title.
Senior co-captains Julia Rucker and Ginger Polich had an exciting 400-meter race, as they crossed the finish line in second and third, respectively, with less than 0.1 seconds between them. Carly Levenson '09 and Mariana Palacios '09 grabbed respective fifth and eleventh places in the event.
Rookie Zandra Walton also had an impressive meet, as she took home two third-place finishes in the 1,500- and 800-meter events. Right behind Walton in the 800-meter was classmate Caitlin McDermott-Murphy in sixth place. Elise Tropiano '09, Meg Ray '08, and Liz Dalton '09 also posted fast times in the 1,500-meter.
Maria Millard '08 barely missed a victory in the 400-meter hurdles, while Kate Silverman '09 was three places behind her in fifth. Earlier in the meet, Millard tied for seventh place in the high jump with Jenny Mancino '09.
A group of distance runners consisting of Kim Partee '08, Heather Wilson '08, Nicole Anderson '09 and Laura Mortimer '08 raced to respective fourth-, fifth-, seventh- and eleventh-place finishes in the 5,000-meter event.
The women only competed in one relay event, the 1,600-meter sprint medley, but 12 Jeffs ran with the baton in hand to make it to the finish line in second, third and fifth place for Amherst. Leading the sea of purple-and-white jerseys in this event was the relay team of Hannah Campbell '07, Rucker, McDermott-Murphy and Polich.
Men
Leading several outstanding performances from the men, Lakehomer ran his first 5,000-meter track race in 15:29 to bring home a win for the team. "It was a new distance and had a different feel to it," said Lakehomer. "It wasn't a really competitive race and my time was a little slow. I wasn't disappointed, but I wanted to run a little faster."
The relay team of co-captains Tim Porter '06, Sam Hayman '07, Jon Ettinger '07 and Basile Beaty '08 and were also victorious in the 1,600-meter sprint medley. Another team of Jeffs, consisting of juniors Geoff Stricsek and Eric Glustrom and sophomores Ben Read and Rom Cabeza, carried the baton across the finish line just six seconds later to take second.
Before their relay victory, Hayman and Beaty each raced to second-place finishes in the 800- and 400-meter races, respectively. Another runner-up finish for the men's team came from John Babbott '07 in the 1,500-meter.
Three Jeffs finished in the top five of the 3,000-meter steeplechase despite a particularly bitter wind that challenged them throughout the race. Robert Boley '07 led the two-three-five finish with Richard Wilson '07 and Peter Foote '09 coming in right behind him.
Senior co-captain Nick Canevari earned a qualification for the Div. III New England Championships with his 39.07-meter throw in the discus, while newcomer Brian Lewis '08 threw the javelin the furthest of the Jeffs for 21st place.
As they head into a busy three weeks of practice and competition leading up to the NESCAC Championships at Bowdoin College on April 29, the Jeffs are going full speed ahead, and they will only get stronger, faster and hopefully healthier.
"I don't see any reason why we can't keep getting better and keep dropping times," said Lakehomer.
"Hopefully by our next meet, the 'plague' that has been going around will have passed and we will be all set with getting back to running at 100 percent," added Nedeau.
As the weather warms the Jeffs should be able to compete at the best of their abilities. "Our team is definitely progressing," said Garrahan. "Unfortunately, because of the weather our times don't reflect how we are doing. I have high hopes for the team during the championship meets."
The Jeffs will get their next chance to improve on their personal bests at the Lowell Invitation at UMass-Lowell at 10 a.m. on Saturday, before traveling to Wesleyan University for the Little Three Championships the following weekend.
NESCAC Notes
Williams College, arguably the strongest men's and women's track and field teams in the NESCAC, did very well at last weekend's invitational on their home track, demonstrating their depth and breadth with a plethora of top finishes in almost all of the events. The female Ephs had first-place finishes in the four relays, in addition to the 100- and 200-meter dashes, long and triple jumps, and shot put. The men of Williams did equally well, with wins in four relays, the long, high and triple jumps, as well as the shot put, discus and 400- and 100-meter races.