Meet Recap

Performers of the Meet - Jimmy Swanson'10 and Katie Moravec'08

The team traveled to Clinton, New York this past weekend to compete in the NESCAC Track & Field Championships. Elise Tropiano got things started on a good note by winning the 10,000m in 36:09.24, a time which should get her into the NCAA Championships. Heather Wilson followed in second, with a 37:33.43, a provisional qualifying time for nationals. Liz Dalton ran a season-best 39:55.17 and just missed scoring. On the men’s side, Daniel Murner was able to pick up four points for the team in the 10k, running 32:28.66 in a tactical race. Peter Harrison and Jimmy Swanson had a great meet, going 2-4 (3:54.12 and 3:54.69) in a tactical 1500. Both were provisional NCAA qualifiers, but the two had already run faster the previous Tuesday. Swanson doubled back better than anyone who attempted the 1,500/800 double – aside from the winner of Hamilton -  finishing third in a PR (and provisional NCAA time) of 1:53.01. Harrison struggled a bit, but both came back again later in the meet (with Will Yochum and Ryan Drost) to help Amherst’s DMR finish fourth. Yochum also had a strong performance in the 1,500, running 4:04.67 before leading off the DMR with a 3:10.9 1200 split. Kristen Ballinger also had a great day for Amherst, winning her heat of the 400 and finishing second overall in a school record of 57.66. She later teamed up with Carly Levenson, Mary Doris Reggie, and Susan Wasserman to break another school record, this time in the 4x400 relay. The team’s 3:55.13 is a provisional qualifying time for nationals. Levenson was doubling back after running a PR of 2:18.97 in the 800 and Wasserman came back from finishing sixth in the 400 hurdles in 1:06.67. The women’s team’s other 400 hurdlers—Kate Silverman (8th, 1:07.00), Jenny Mancino (10th, 1:09.53), and Kathryn Loomis (11th, 1:09.71)—also performed well.

Amherst picked up some additional points in the steeplechase, with Sophie Galleher taking fourth (11:31.15) and Peter Foote taking fifth (9:36.45). John McGrail won his heat of the steeplechase in 10:03.96 and finished 10th overall. Foote did the unusual steeplechase/400 hurdles double, and took 16th in the latter, running 60.50. Ryan Drost had a solid day in the 400H, taking 10th in 58.25. The 5000 was a big event for Amherst, with five athletes scoring. Kim Partee finished second in 18:13.36, Katie Moravec moved from about ninth with 1000 to go to third at the finish, running 18:16.54. She was followed closely by Nicole Anderson, who took fifth in 18:20.28 and used a big kick in the last stretch to secure that place. On the men’s side, Mike Harbus also had a late-race surge, and finished sixth in 15:31.11. Florian Reichert – despite his broken elbow from a fall on Tuesday - finished eighth in 15:32.91, picking up another point for the team. Eric Holaday took 13th in a new PR of 15:43.92. In the field events, Sarah Leyman picked up points with a seventh place finish in the discus, and also finished ninth in the shot put. Chris Eaton finished 17th in the shot and 22nd in the hammer. Jenny Mancino finished in a tie for seventh in the high jump, with a jump of 1.50 meters. In the sprints, the men’s team of Michael Dolmatch, Anthony Fuller, Keith Pendergrass, and Sean Legister picked up two points with a seventh-place finish in the 4x100. The women’s team of Kate Silverman, Emily Dick, Kathryn Loomis, and Mattie Baker took sixth. Baker came back from an injury to finish 15th in the 200 with a 27.55. Emily Dick took 19th in 28.12. On the men’s side, Anthony Fuller led the way with a 14th place finish in the 100 and a 15th place finish in the 200. Sean Legister ran his best time of the season in the 100, taking 15th in 11.63. In the women’s middle distances, Caitlin McDermott-Murphy finished ninth in a very competitive 1,500, running 4:47.04. She later led off the sixth place 4x800 relay with a 2:20 split. Hoiwan Cheung (2:23.64) and Zoe Pagonis (2:24.84) ran their best times ever and were also part of the 4x800 relay, along with Murph and Kate.