Men
The men’s team was one of 18 squads competing at the meet and several Amherst runners did their part to help secure the Jeff’s fifth-place overall ranking.
Arguably, the most exciting race of the meet was the five-kilometer run. Senior Daniel Murner led the race for the first two miles, as junior Will Yochum and Tim Richard of Holy Cross followed just behind. After falling back during the last lap, Murner put in a final sprint over the last 100 meters, outkicking the other two frontrunners to the finish. His winning time of 14:52.37 was less than half a second faster than the times of Yochum and Richard.
Running the 800-meter distance, Ben Scheetz ’12 took second place in the finals, finishing just 0.15 seconds behind Miles Bartlett of Maine, out of a total 31 athletes. Junior Tommy Moore qualified for the 500-meter finals, where he ran a 1:07.34.
In the shortest sprint event — the 55-meter dash — first-year Ofori Amponsah was Amherst’s top finisher, claiming 12th place of 34 with a time of 6.84. The young runner was optimistic about the team’s overall outcome at the meet.
Describing the team’s performance, Amponsah said, “On a whole, I think the team did very well. Our three weeks of intersession two-a-days are starting to produce results.”
Amponsah is not the only Lord Jeff sprinter who anticipates continued success for the team. Junior Sean-Patrick Legister, who competed in the 55 and 200-meter dashes, said, “As a whole, we continue to improve and continue to work. It was my first crack at competition, as I returned late for Interterm. The rest of my teammates, who have been here ‘grindin’ all through the rugged and desolate days of Interterm, are beginning to feel good, getting their legs back and dominating the competition. I think Coach Nedeau, as well as each individual member, has much to look forward to.”
Women
The women placed 12th in a field of 17 teams highlighted by Div. I powerhouses like Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst and University of South Florida. However, several Jeffs contributed stellar performances to the team’s effort.
Moving from an excellent cross country season to her ever-improving indoor track showings, sophomore Melissa Sullivan earned fifth place of 44 in the 800-meter run, clocking a 2:17.83. The top Div. III athlete in the race, Sullivan was followed less than four seconds later by seniors Hoiwan Cheung and Mary Doris Reggie, who placed 11th and 12th, respectively.
“The meet yesterday was the first time we have gotten to run on a banked track this season, which provides a great opportunity to post some quick times, especially in the sprints. We got off to a bit of a slow start on the day, but things picked up in the middle distance and distance events,” said Reggie.
In the one-mile race, first-year Keri Lambert ran a 5:16.84, earning 15th place of 42. Fellow first-year Elodie Reed followed with a 25th-place finish 10 seconds later. Sophomore Eliza Schalch ran a 3:10.44 in the shorter 1,000-meter distance, placing 14th of 28. Also finishing in the top half of her race’s competitive field was Ali Simeone ’13, whose 10:26.01 in the three-kilometer race put her in 11th place of 50. Senior Sophie Galleher took 22nd in the same race with a time of 10:43.33, and first-year Sarah Daly took 25th place four seconds later.
Reflecting on the meet, Reggie said, “Overall, the day was pretty successful and a great introduction to the more competitive portion of our season when we get the opportunity to run with some great Div. I schools on really fast tracks before gearing up to kick some Div. III [butt].”
The men’s and women’s teams will race next on Saturday, Feb. 6, at Smith College.