Women
Last Saturday, the team made the trek through murky drizzle into the dreary abyss of Williamstown for the 2010 Little Three Championships.
First-year Keri Lambert and sophomore Laura Zaccagnino made their debuts in the 3,000m steeplechase and brought home second- and third-place finishes for the Jeffs — this after teaming with Ellen Richmond ’12 and Caroline Darmody ’10 to take third place in the 4x100m relay.
Sophomore Melissa Sullivan added onto her spectacular season with another lightning-quick time in the 1,500m, finishing a few moments before a Williams’ runner in 4:40.41. In the quarter mile, senior captain Mary Doris Reggie grabbed second in 61.24, with Sullivan not too far behind in fifth place at 62.11. First-year Jade McKnight made her debut in the 100m dash, coming through in second in 13.60. She captured second place in the 200m as well, with a time of 28.11.
Senior Sophia Galleher garnered an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 17:27.15 in the 5,000m and sophomore Jordan Roehl joined her at the top with first-place finishes in both the shot put and hammer throw. Jess Mueller ’13 also performed admirably in the long and triple jumps, with fourth place finishes in both. Senior Jennifer Rybak arched over the competition with her 1.47 in the high jump, good for third-place.
The home meet, which was the last chance for the Amherst athletes to slip under a number of qualifying times for various competitions, was a moderate success for the Jeffs.
Sullivan qualified for the ECAC’s with a time of 2:16.38 in the 800 m, while Galleher also qualified for ECAC’s with her time of 4:47.32 in the 1,500 m.
Men
Of the 10 Little Three titles that the Jeffs took home from the Saturday meet, the men’s team captured six en route to the women’s identical third-place finish.
By far the most impressive show of the team’s depth came in the 100m dash, as the top five racers in the event all wore the purple and white. Freshman Ofori Amponsah topped the field with his 11.31 time, barely edging out junior Thebe Tsatsimpe by .03 seconds. And despite conditions that head coach Erik Nedau described as “wind[y], rain[y], and, yes, even snow[y]” (not to mention having to deal with “the bleak, gravy landscape of Weston Field at Williams College”), Amherst dominated the 800m in similar fashion. Junior Will Yochum led everybody in 1:53.78, with classmate Steve Corsello coming less than a second later in 1:54.03.
Junior Ryan Drost and sophomore Spencer Russell came in second and third in the 400m hurdles, respectively, both in their fastest times of the season. Amponsah also wowed in the 200m, with a personal record of 23.17 — just a few moments short of a first-place finish.
Coach Ned, however, named junior John McGrail his performer of the meet for his “beastly kick” in the final 200 of the 5,000m to wind handily in 15.21.86. The Jeffs also headlined the 4x400m race, with two Amherst teams blowing past the rest of the field for the top two places on the medal stand. Out in the field, Tsatsimpe captured first in the long jump and second in the triple.
In the home meet, the men’s 4x100 m “A” team picked up an ECAC qualifier with a 43.15. Yochum put in a time of 3:50.20 to collect an NCAA automatic qualifier in the 1,500 m. Tsatsimpe narrowly missed an NCAA provisional qualifier, coming up just .03 feet of qualifying on the triple jump with his 13.67.
The track teams will next lace up for the Penn relays tomorrow, at 7 p.m.