The men’s and women’s outdoor track squads both used strong team performances to jostle past several Div. I competitors to a seventh place finishes at the University of Massachusetts,Amherst spring meet.

Women

Senior Sophia Galleher dominated the 3,000m steeplechase, as she made a triumphant return to the track following the completion of her thesis. She flew in 11 seconds ahead of her closest competitor with a time of 11:20.45. First-year Elodie Reed came in at 12:20.17, good for sixth place.

Sophomore Melissa Sullivan made her way to the podium after a third-place finish in the 800m run with a time of 2:19.62. Less than two seconds behind her with a seventh place finish was senior Mary Doris Reggie.

The Jeffs also made a major splash in the 10,000m, where first-years Ali Simeone and Sarah Daly finished first and second with times of 38:18.84 and 38:27.08, respectively.

Sophomore Jordan Roehl came in seventh in the shot put with a distance of 11.59m, her farthest throw in the college ranks. In the triple jump, first-year Jess Mueller bounced into a sixth place finish with a 10.50m jump.

First-year Lauren Almeida finished her 1,500m in 4:55.99 and had quite a showing in the 54-woman field. In the 400m dash, junior Susan Wasserman came in less than four seconds behind the leader at 1:02.26 a seventh place finish in another crowded field. In the 5,000m, sophomore Laura Zaccagnino grabbed 12th place in 18:57.22.

Men

Starting things out for the Jeffs was junior Thebe Tsatsimpe, who leaped 6.83m in the long jump to earn second place. Also in the field was junior Christopher Eaton, whose 45.37m hammer throw was a personal record, Div. III qualifying mark and good for seventh place. Continuing his improvement from last week was first-year Denzel Duncan, with a discus toss of 38.20m — besting his personal record by nearly 5m, and garnering a “performer of the meet” acknowledgment from Head Coach Erik Nedeau. Where did the spike come from? “It’s really about going to practice every day and working on technique, which is easily the most important thing,” said Duncan.

In the 3,000m steeplechase, first-year Dillon Buckley was less than a second away from a fourth place finish in his first-ever steeplechase race with his 9:49.92. His commendable preparation also netted him a “performer of the meet” award from Coach Ned. Junior Will Yochum ran well in the 1,500m, and only 19 seconds separated him and his 3:55.85 from first place. Freshman Patrick Grimes also showed encouraging results in the event, as he finished in 20th with a time of 4:08.92. Sophomore Geoff Ainslee and senior Jimmy Swanson were not far behind, as they ran times of 4:10.29 (23rd) and 4:11.33 (27th), respectively.

Sophomore Andrew Reed was just a couple of seconds behind the leader of the 400m dash, but his 51.58 was only good for a seventh place finish. Juniors Ryan Drost and Tommy Moore finished in 10th and 11th, respectively, with times of 52.01 and 52.25. Sophomore Spencer Russell’s 15.54 in the 110m hurdles was enough for sixth place, and junior Steven Corsello’s 1:55.82 in the 1500m landed him in eighth.

Senior Daniel Murner obliterated the competition in the 5,000m again, cruising to an easy victory in 14:55.19. In the 10,000m, first-year Andrew Erskine’s 32.50.01 was good enough for eighth place.