Men’s, women’s track and field wrap up regular indoor season

The men’s and women’s track and field teams finished successful regular indoor seasons on Saturday at the Springfield College Triangle Classic in Springfield, Mass. For many of the athletes, it was their last chance to qualify for championship meets, and the teams rose to that challenge.

On the men’s side, junior Aiden Lewis posted a time of 1:24.48 in the 600 meters, giving him not only second place in the event, but also a personal best. This performance ranks him 26th on the Div. III New England region performance list, giving him a confidence booster going into the championship part of the season.

"I had to take a couple of weeks prior to the start of the season,” Lewis said. “It felt really good to get back into shape and be able to get a [personal record].”

In the 1,000 meter run, senior Dylan McEniry finished with a time of 2:36.57, earning him second place, as well as a qualifying time that ranks 33rd in the Div. III New England region. In the mile and 5,000 meter, respectively, senior Taylor Wurts finished third with a time of 4:31.33 and junior Patrick Nero finished second with a time of 15:54.23.

In the short distance events, senior Robert Jones finished third in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.06, ranking him 13th in the Div. III New England region. First-year Willy White also took advantage of the situation, posting a personal record in the 60 meter hurdles. His time of 8.49 in the finals, which was a 0.18 second improvement from his preliminary time, gave him third place in the meet as well as a ranking of 10th in the Div. III New England region.

First-year Hunter Farrell tied his personal best of 14' 7 1/4" in the pole vault, earning him third place, while junior Matthew Manteiga jumped 21’ 7 1/2” in the long jump to secure fourth place in the event.

The women’s side was led by two distance event wins in the 3,000 meter by first-year Meghan Davis and in the 5,000 meter by junior Hannah Nelson. Davis ran a time of 10:40.21, giving her a new personal best. Nelson ran an 18:31.14, giving her a new personal best and a ranking of 25th in the Div. III New England region.

There were also two field event wins led by sophomore Kathryn Ezeoha in the long jump and first-year Lia Rotti in the triple jump. Ezeoha posted 17’ 1 1/2", placing her 15th in the Div. III New England region, while Rotti finished with 38’ 5 1/2”. Notably, Rotti is only the third athlete in team history to go over 38-feet in the event.

Other impressive showings by the women's team included a fourth place finish in the mile by junior Johanna Ross with a time of 5:16.05 and a fifth place finish in the 600 meters by junior Scarlet Bliss with a time of 1:42.32 that earned her 30th place in the Div. III New England region.

There were also some impressive first-year showings, including Aliya Magnuson in the 800 meters and Jaidyn Appel in the high jump. Magnuson ran a personal best of 2:26.73, coming in fourth place in the race. Meanwhile, Appel jumped 5’ 3 1/4", placing second in the event.

Both the men's and women's teams saw success from first-years, a positive sign moving forward.

“I feel like we have very strong new members of the team," said Lewis. "This [first-year] class has been very impressive, and I think in the coming years as long as they manage to stay healthy and they can build on their talent, we’re going to have a very strong team."

This meet was a success not only for the first-years, but also for many of the veteran athletes as well, such as for Nelson.

“It was kind of a breakthrough race for me," said Nelson. "I’ve been dealing with a lot of injury throughout my running career at Tufts. To cut down on time was pretty exciting.”

As the Jumbos look ahead to the championship part of the season, the men's team will return to Springfield College for the New England Div. III Championship on Friday and Saturday, where many of the athletes such as senior Matt D’Anieri, junior Harry Steinberg and senior co-captain Roman Lovell, who did not compete at the Triangle Classic, will be back in action. The women's team New England Div. III Championships will be hosted at Middlebury.

Nelson, still recovering from running the 5,000 meter at Springfield, is nonetheless optimistic about the championship race despite the fierce competition.

“It’s a little tough. The field is definitely really competitive," Nelson said. "I ran the 5k on Saturday, and have to run it again six days later, but I’ll be in great company."