Sports
Track & field falters at NESCAC’s
By Jack Vissicchio ’17
May 1, 2015
It has been a very eventful two weeks for the men’s and women’s track and field teams, as they have competed in the Albany Spring Classic and the NESCAC Championships. Both teams finished strong considering the fierce competition they faced in both meets.
Albany consisted of only individual events, and many competitors from both the men’s and women’s teams had successful showings. Overall, the men’s team recorded eight top ten finishes. Dylan Berardelli ’16 led the way finishing third in the hammer throw with a distance of 43.83 meters (143 feet, 9 inches) and also finished fourth in the shot put with a distance of 14.00 meters (45 feet, 9 inches). Following closely behind was promising freshman Patrick Malin who finished 10th in both the hammer throw (30.15 meters/98 feet, 11 inches) and the shot put (10.29 meters/33 feet, 9.25 inches). On the track, Christian Belardi ’18 took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.47 seconds). While both Nate Some ’16 and Grant Whitney ’17 recorded seventh-place finishes in the 400-meter dash (53.37 seconds) and 800-meter run (2:02.14), respectively. Freshman Ned Kister also had a strong showing, finishing 12th in the 400-meter hurdles. Hamilton’s 1,600-meter relay of Somes ’16, Mathew McCarron ’17, Whitney and Jon Stanhope ’18 also had a solid run on the day, taking fifth place with a time of 3:36.96.
The women’s team may have had an even stronger showing than the men at Albany. They compiled numerous top ten finishes, led by the efforts of Yuwen Michelson ’17 who took sixth place in the long jump with a mark of 5.12 meters (16 feet, 9.75 inches) and Emily Banzer ’15 who was runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:46.15.
In addition, freshman Mattie Seamans finished fifth in in the 400-meter dash (62.04 seconds) and sixth in the triple jump (9.97 meters/32 feet, 8.5 inches). Michelle Fish ’17, also performed well placing sixth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:59.06 and seventh in the 800-meter run in 2:26.36. Freshman Hanna Jerome followed closely behind Fish, placing eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:27.65.
Additionally, Michelson, although unable to improve upon the distance of her jump at Albany, recorded the team’s highest individual finish, placing eighth in the long jump with a mark of 4.91 meters (16 feet, 1.5 inches). The women were able to record nine other top-20 finishes. Jerome improved on her 800-meter run time from the previous week with a time 2:18.69. In the women’s 1,500-meter run, Fish took 11th, cutting nearly 5 seconds of her time from Albany, clocking in at 4:54.90. Three Continentals were also in the top 20 in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase: Banzer placed 12th in 12:12.58, Dimakis finished 16th in 12:43.47 and Rachel Newman ’16 was 18th in 13:24.95.
Beradelli led the way on the men’s side, earning points in two events. He was fourth in the discus throw (42.70 meters/140 feet, 1 inch) and fifth in the hammer throw (47.24 meters/155 feet). He was also ninth in the shot put with a mark of 13.37 meters (43 feet, 10.5 inches). After Berardelli, the meet showcased the future of Hamilton’s team with Belardi and Saucier leading the way. Amazingly, Saucier finished fifth in the men’s 200-meter dash in 22.58 seconds in his first outdoor event of the season. He also placed 16th in the men’s 400-meter dash (51.24 seconds) Belardi took 10th in the men’s 110-meter hurdles (15.88 seconds).
Looking forward, both teams are sending competitors to finish out the season at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championships on Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, at St. Lawrence University.