The men were led by Dave Molina, as he dropped down from the 1500 to the 800, and won his section of the 800 in a new personal best and would wind up placing 6th after all the other sections had been run. Janak Chandrasoma, racing in his final Amherst meet, got his day off to a great start in the 400, as he blasted under 50 seconds in that event, and then had to deal with the weather in the 200 as he was about to enter the blocks when the meet was delayed for over an hour. He came back after the delay and finished 2nd in his section with a fast time to finish out a great career. jack Morgan, like Dave, dropped down an event to sharpen his speed for his potential race at NCAA's, and competed well in the 400.

Our final meet will be at the National Championships, held at Milliken University, and we need to wait until after this coming weekend to find out about those who have made provisional marks to see exactly who will be going. Dave and Jack, in the 1500 and 800 respectively, have made provisional marks, as has Aly in the 5k, and Carter (5k and 10k) and Shauneen (Steeple, 1500, 5k) have marks in their respective events that should qualify them for the big race.

Carter Hamill and Aly Venti got the ball rolling for the women on friday night as both raced the 5k. In a very strong field, Carter immediately jumped out to a big lead while Aly led the chase pack through the 2 mile mark. Carter maintained the lead until 600m to go when a Boston College runner surged passed her and maintained the distance for the victory with Carter grabbing the 2nd spot and her best time of the outdoor season - moving her to the top of the 5k list for DIII - while Aly finished in the middle of the pack. On Saturday, Ginger got a great day for the team started with her run ion the 800 as she went through in even splits to lower her PR by over a second as she raced to a time of 2:18.21 good for 19th. Shauneen Garrahan was next up in the 1500, and despite the very fast opening lap and extra energy spent trying to lead the chase pack that she was in, she lowered her own school record in the 1500 by another second as she ran 4:32 and got 4th. Shauneen and Ginger would team up with Julia Rucker and Ariel Haney in the days final event - the 4x400 and were hoping to run faster then there previous best of the year. Ruck got things started with her fastest 400 ever, running under 61 seconds for the first time ever, and then Shauneen and Ginger followed that with great legs of their own - with both running in the low 60 seconds and we were able to hand off the baton in the lead - barely ahead of 2 other teams, and Ariel powered home and anchored the team to its fastest 4x400 of the year, nearly breaking 4 minutes in the process and grabbing 11th overall.

While the women were doing their work at Springfield, the men headed up to Williams to show their competitiveness. Janak Chandrasoma got the day started by winning his section in the qualifying rounds of the 200, with Jay Wagstaff having an awesome race as he ran under 23 seconds for the first time ever. In the finals of the 200, Janak would race to his fastest time of the season and grab 3rd place - his best finish ever at the meet. Jack Morgan won the fast section of the 800 whit a huge finishing kick to run away from the rest of the field, but was displaced by the winner of the first section and had to settle for a second place finish overall. Dave Molina used a strong middle portion of the race to get himself in contention in the 1500, and would finish 3rd overall with his best time of the season in a very deep 1500 field. The 4x100 relay of Jay, Janak, Jon Ettinger and Geoff Stricsek continued to improve as they had great stick work and finished in 5th. Dave Schreiner entered the 5k whit the slowest seed time, but improved upon that to the tune of a 7th place finish and capped his season with an All-New England performance. The 4x400 relay of Jay - racing his first true 400 and doing it extremely well - Jack, Dave and Janak grabbed 8th place overall to cap their day with 27 points overall, and each event that was entered, we had athletes who scored All-New England honors.

With the absence of a couple of key people, the men reshuffled relays and it paid off as the Distance Medley Relay of John Stanton-Geddes, Janak Chandrasoma, Jack Morgan and Dave Molina finished off the meet with a convincing victory, and sent seniors John and Janak away as conference champs. Jack used a blistering last 100m to run away from the pack and overtake the early leader to grab the win in the 800, running to his best ever time in the process. Dave Molina made a strong move on the back stretch and then closed down hard on the leaders as he grabbed 3rd in the 1500 and ran to a new PR by nearly 3 seconds. Janak had an outstanding day for the team, as in addition to his great DMR leg in helping get the win, he also grabbed a 4th and a 6th place finish in the 200 (winning his section) and 400, as well as joining with Jay Wagstaff, Jon Ettinger and Geoff Stricsek to grab 4th in the 4x100. Dave Schreiner rallied in the last 400 of the 5k to come back and grab the final scoring place. Julius Nanna, limited in action this year due to various injuries, was able to finish his career strong as he made the finals in the triple jump, just missing his PR. The 800 was a solid race for the team, as Rich Wilson, Dan Fisher and Billy McNitt raced in the first section and, despite the wind, posted strong finishes, and then in the next section, John Babbott got spiked bad enough that it ripped off his shoe and he finished the race barefoot and bloodied. Nick Canevari had a solid throw in the javelin, while LJ Spinnato was throwing well in the hammer, and both, along with Ryan Smith, should be forces next season. Brandt Tullis raced to his best time of the year in the 1500, and Jon posted solid marks in both the long and triple jump.

The men were paced by a huge and unexpected win in the hammer by LJ Spinnato, as he nearly cracked 150 feet to win the event - the first Amherst victory in the throwing events in recent memory. Nick Canevari and Ryan Smith were busy, along with LJ, in the other throwing events as they picked up a lot of points for the team. Dave Schreiner took control of the 5k just after the mile and never looked back as he raced to a a big win. Dave Molina won a very competitive 800 with a big homestretch kick, while Andy Schneider was close on his heels, and in the first section, Rich Wilson and Dan Fisher raced to their best times of the year. Janak Chandrasoma and Jack Morgan went 2-3 in the 400 as both raced under the 50 second mark - the first time for both of them - and Janak would race well in the 200 later in his fastest time of the season, and race an awesome anchor leg for the 4x400 relay along with Molina, Schneider and Jon Ettinger. Jay Wagstaff was busy in the sprints and jumps, as he ran to a new PR in the 200. Jon Ettinger popped some good jumps in the long and triple jump, John Stanton-Geddes and John Babbott raced to their best times so far in the 1500, while Billy McNitt set a new PR in the earlier section which Brandt Tulllis would run away with easily. Rob Boley, running the 400 Hurdles for the first time, took a big fall on the first hurdle but got back up and finished strong to grab points for the team, along with his points in the high jump. The 4x100 relay of Jay, Janak, Jon and Geoff Stricsek raced to a third place finish with their best time of the season, and then Geoff would race to his best time in the 100 shortly after.

Jack Morgan ran a strong back stretch into the wind to take the lead and then powered to a win in the 800 with a huge negative split, while John Babbott would grab 4th. In the first section of the 800, Brandt Tullis and Dan Fisher had only each other for competition, and while the opening lap was not quick, then both had quick 2nd 400's and a lean at the line finish. The sprint medley relay of Jay Wagstaff, Jon Ettinger, Janak Chandrasoma and Dave Molina grabbed a convincing win and just missed the school record, while the Distance Medley Relay of John Stanton-Geddes, Tim Porter, Babbott and Morgan would also grab a convincing win. Molina led the majority of the 1500 into the wind and looked great but would get passed near the line and wind up 2nd, while Mike Page and John Stanton-Geddes came in 4th and 5th. Page would come back later in the day and run the 5k in trainers to post a solid workout despite the wind, while Nate Freese would have a great race as he gets closer the breaking 16 minutes.  The throwers - Nick Canevari, Ryan Smith and LJ Spinnato all had a solid day in the throws, but they made their mark -along with the truly dedicated coach O'Neill - and showed the world their speed as they competed in the throwers 4x100. Jon Ettinger posted great marks in the long jump, as he nearly cracked the 20 foot barrier. Janak Chandrasoma had a good open 400 as he gets closer to the 49 second mark.

The women were led by an impressive 1-2-6-8 finish in the 5000, as Shauneen Garrahan followed the pacing of Carter Hamill (who placed 4th in the 1500 earlier) as the two both qualified provisionally for the NCAA's, and Aly Venti (having taken the GRE's earlier that day) and Margaret Davis ran strong. Lee-Jay Henry grabbed a pair of third place finishes in the long and triple jumps and improved her marks from the previous weeks, to go along with solid runs in the 100 and 200. Alison Rodriguez competed in the steeplechase for the first time this spring but wasted no time lowering her PR, as she looked great en route to her runner-up finish and 4 second personal best. Ginger Polich grabbed a 5th place in the 800, as she looked great winning her section handily. Julia Rucker raced in her first open 400 since finding so much success with the relays, and grabbed a 6th place finish. Krissy Morin made the finals in the 100 hurdles and grabbed a 6th place finish, to go along with her great throw in the javelin, as she edged over the 100 foot mark, Dan had a great 200 run - blasting the rest of her heat to easily win her section. Erinn White had a great race in the 1500, as she dropped the rest of the field in her section in the last lap to run one of her fastest 1500's. Lyndsey Scott grabbed a pair of 7th place finishes in both the high jump and the 200, before teaming with Julia, Krissy, and Ginger to race to a second place finish in the 4x400.

The men were led by three runner-up performances - Jon Ettinger had a big jump in the triple jump to grab silver as he went 41-07, Janak Chandrasoma grabbed a silver in the 200 with a fast opening season mark, and Jay Wagstaff finished second in the 100 despite handily winning his section. The three of those guys teamed with Mark Hannon (who scored point in the 100 later in the day) to grab a 3rd place finish in the 4x100 relay. John Stanton-geddes led a slew of mid-distance runners in the 1500 with a very quick opening mark of 4:02 to grab third, with Andrew Schneider grabbing 8th and setting a new PR - the two would finish 6th and 7th in the 800 shortly after. Nick Canevari grabbed points in three throwing events - 5th in the javelin, 6th in the discus and 8th in the shot put, while fellow thrower, Ryan Smith grabbed 6th in the shot. Tim Porter grabbed 5th place in the 400 hurdles, and Janak and Jon went 6-7 in the 400. John Babbott, John and Andrew and Sam Hayman raced to a third place finish in the 4x400 to cap the day, while several guys got the opportunity to run on various relays. Geoff Stricsek ran a strong 200, Sam raced to a good finish in the 800 as Dave Schreiner and Rich Wilson battled each other to a tight finish in the same event. Billy McNitt ran to a new PR in the 1500, and came back to run a strong 800 in a near PR time.