Women
The women started the weekend off strong, scoring in many of Friday's early races. Elise Tropiano '09 who the week before had the lone individual victory for the Lady Jeffs, finished second in the 5,000-meter finals; junior Heather Wilson was right behind her, coming in third. Both improved their NCAA rankings, which impacts their placement in the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Carly Levenson saved her best race yet for the biggest stage. Competing against a number of Div. I runners, she ran the 500-meter event in 1:18:66, breaking the previous Amherst record that had stood since 1995. Amherst's more experienced runners also ran impressive races. Senior tri-captain Maria Millard advanced to the 800-meter finals, while fellow captain Hanna Campbell '07 ran her fastest race of the year in the 400-meter event.
Saturday proved to be an equally successful day for the women, as they were able to capitalize on the strong momentum they gained from Friday's strong performances. "All of our hard work really paid off," Levenson proudly proclaimed.
Again, the Jeffs' captains proved good role models for the younger runners. Shauneen Garrahan '07 began the morning with a second-place and NCAA-qualifying time in the mile, and raced to a new personal-best time in the 3,000-meter run to place sixth overall. Millard ran another strong race, nearly breaking the school record in the 800 meters to place fourth in the race.
Much like last weekend, the Jeffs' relay teams nearly stole the show. The 4x400 team, comprised of Millard, Levenson, Campbell and Caitlin McDermott-Murphy '09, broke the four-minute mark, setting a new Amherst record and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Murphy had a strong individual day as well, running 5:01 in the mile and grabbing 11th overall to qualify for NCAAs. Sophie Galleher '10 nearly also qualified in the mile event, just barely missing the cut-off with a huge personal best time.
Men
The men, unlike last weekend, were not to be outdone. Friday evening represented a day of personal record-setting for the Jeffs. "Last week we had a tough weekend, with people being sick; this weekend, we really battled," said sophomore Jack Kiley.
Senior Nate Freese, competing in the seeded portion of the 5,000, cut 10 seconds off his previous personal best. Harrison Lakehomer, running in the unseeded section of the 5,000, finished first while running the second-fastest time of this career. Junior Romulo Cabeza, who qualified for the ECAC Championships, and sophomore Steve Stewart also set personal records, placing 17th and 23rd in the 800 event, respectively. First-years Jimmy Swanson and Tommy Anderson were not to be outdone. Racing in separate 1,000-meter heats, each ran their best times of the season.
The mile event turned out to be one of much success for the Jeffs. Carlyle Eubank '10 won the first unseeded section, finishing in just over 4:20. Fellow first-year Will Bell finished just behind Eubank, setting a personal record and qualifying for the ECAC Championships next weekend.
The Jeffs were nearly unable to translate their personal record-breaking into team success. In the 4x800 relay, Cabeza was clipped from behind, forcing him to the ground. Nevertheless, the Jeffs kept racing, and it paid off: Thanks to Swanson, Kiley and senior tri-captain Sam Hayman's ability to run four seconds faster than their previous best performance of the season, the men were able to make up enough of the lost time to come in 18th. The 4x400 team, comprised of Keith Pendergrass '10, Basile Beaty '08, Kit Callahan '09 and Stewart, ran to their best mark of the year, placing 21st overall.
Next weekend, the Jeffs head to the familiar campus of Little-Three rival Wesleyan Universtiy for the ECAC Championships.