This past Saturday, the outdoor track teams competed at the University of Massachusetts Invitational. Both the men and women went up against some tough competition, including Div. I schools. The weather was even more challenging, however, with on-and-off showers the entire meet. The men put in a valiant effort and ended up ranking ninth out of 10 teams, while the women tied for eighth place with Trinity College.

Men

Single-handedly representing the Lord Jeff men in field events, Chris Eaton ’10 placed fourth in the hammer throw with a distance of 42.55 meters and 12th for the discus throw. The distance runners didn’t disappoint either, with the dashing co-captain Peter Foote ’09 finishing the 3000-meter run in fourth place with a time of 9:33.23. He was followed by his equally charming teammate John McGrail ’11, who finished fifth in 9:50.63.

In the 1500-meter run, sophomore Will Yochum finished fourth with a blazing-fast time of 3:59.62. Will Bell ’10 placed not far behind in eighth place with a 4:03.48 and fellow junior Jimmy Swanson rounded out the top 10 with a 4:04.33. These same three also placed right after one another in the 800-meter run, with Swanson coming in seventh, followed by Yochum and Bell with times of 1:57.78, 1:58.48 and 1:59.18.

In the shorter distances, first-year Andrew Reed placed 12th in the 400-meter dash with a speedy 51.42, while senior co-captain Anthony Fuller pulled through in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.02, earning 12th place as well. That said, the highlight of the men’s entire performance on Saturday was junior Daniel Murner’s first place finish in the 5000-meter run with a jaw-dropping time of 14:39.92, which provisionally qualifies him for NCAAs.

Women

Although they faced some tough competition and uncooperative weather, the Lord Jeff women gave an impressive effort on Saturday. Tri-captain senior Elise Tropiano was a standout performer in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Tropiano won the race with a time of 10:48.27, a provisional NCAA qualifier, beating out University of Hartford’s Elizabeth Foster for the top spot.

Sophie Galleher ’10 also ran well on Saturday in the 1500-meter run, coming in 14th place out of 47 runners with a time of 4:53.96. Not far behind in 17th place was first-year Liza Schalch who ran a 4:58.77. Zandra Walton ’09 squeezed into the top 20 as well with a time of 5:00.84. In the 100-meter dash, Mattie Baker ’09 cruised to 12th place out of 27 runners with a time of 13.82. Tri-captain senior Carly Levenson was also in top form, finishing the 800-meter run in 2:21.00, good for ninth place. Junior Hoiwan Cheung and senior Molly Priedeman also led Amherst in the 800, snagging 17th and 18th with times of 2:23.19 and 2:23.39, respectively.

Susan Wasserman ’11 represented Amherst well in the 400-meter hurdles, taking eighth place out of 21 runners with a time of 1:09.25. Fellow sophomore Hallie Schwab gave an equally stellar performance in the 5000-meter run. Schwab came in 10th place out of 27 runners with a time of 18:11.07. Amherst’s women’s 4x400-meter relay teams placed in the middle of the field. The Lord Jeff’s “A” team finished in sixth place with a time of 4:10.81, while Amherst’s “B” team followed in seventh place in 4:15.64.

First-year Jordan Roehl continues to be one to watch in the field events. On Saturday Roehl placed seventh out of 18 competitors in the women’s hammer throw with a throw of 37.99 meters.

Despite these performances, the Amherst women struggled against schools with more depth such as University of Maine, University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Boston College, the top three finishers of the day. Amherst tied with NESCAC rival Trinity College for eighth place with 17 points and managed to beat out Quinnipiac University, who finished the day with 13 points.

Next weekend, the Lord Jeffs will continue pounding it on the track at Little Three’s, facing the Wesleyan University Cardinals, who will host, and the Williams College Ephs.