Sports
Track teams start outdoor season strong, break several records
By Grace Myers ’19
April 13, 2017
Tags sports
The men’s and women’s track and field teams had yet another impressive weekend, with new school records and strong performances all around. The non-team scoring event, the Naz/ROC City Classic, was hosted by Nazareth College on April 9, rescheduled from April 8. Between the men’s and women’s teams, three team records were broken during the second meet of the outdoor track season.
The season has been a success so far for both teams. Strong sprinters in the sophomore class bolster the women’s team. Catherine Berry ’19 captured three program records throughout the indoor season, and Kyandreia Jones ’19 holds the indoor team record in 60-meter hurdles. In relays so far this season, four runners achieved a program record in the 3200-meter relay. In middle distance, experience prevailed, as the top runners are veterans Hanna Jerome ’18, Mary Lundin ’19, Mattie Seamans ’18 and Michaela Guinee ’18. In long distance events, Michelle Fish ’17 and Lindsay Heyer ’17 have had much success so far. Leigh Gelotte ’19, Vishwa Rasania ’17 and Emily Steates ’19 have had a strong start to a shortened outdoor season in the high jump (Gelotte) and horizontal jumps (Rasania and Steates). Emily Hull ’18 leads the team in the throwing events.
The men’s team also moves into the outdoor season with a great pool of athletes looking to build off strong times and distances throughout the winter indoor season. Eli Saucier ’18 leads the sprinters, a group that includes Ryan Sedwick ’19, Matthew McCarron ’17 and Tom Bisko ’18. Grant Whitney ’17 led the middle-distance runners, and Jack Pierce ’17 and Bryce Murdick ’20 spearheaded an excellent season for the distance runners. In field events, Preston DeLaurentis ’18 leads the team in jumps, while Patrick Malin ’18 and Ty Kunzman ’20 round out the men’s team in the throws.
This weekend saw spectacular performances across the board, as the teams shook off the rust in just the second outdoor meet of the season. The track teams have been plagued by weather cancellations and postponements. On the men’s side, Saucier broke two team records in the 200-meter (21.84 seconds) and the 400-meter (49.08 seconds) dashes, placing second in both races. His records during the day continue his strong performance throughout the season. He has posted eight first place finishes so far in his junior year and 20 top-three races. A two-sport athlete, he also plays as a wide receiver on Hamilton’s football team during the fall season.
DeLaurentis set a personal record in the triple jump (13.84 meters, or 45 feet, 5 inches) and placed first in the competitive field. Three Continentals placed ninth in their events, including Kunzman in discus, Sedwick in the 100-meter dash and Murdick in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
One of the senior captains, Grant Whitney, attributed some of the team’s event and overall success to the overwhelming youth and vibrance of the team, remarking that “this year’s team is one of the youngest in recent memory.” Though optimistic about the burgeoning stars in the first- and second-year classes, Whitney also commented on the strong pool of steady performers. “Although [the team’s youth] has pushed some of our young athletes to find their roles on the team, it has also given us a lot of depth across several events,” he said. “Not all teams need to be filled with standout athletes, and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of our depth come championship season.”
Hamilton’s women’s team had an equally impressive meet. Berry broke her second team record in the last two weeks. Since transferring from Colgate University after the end of her first year, Berry has broken four Hamilton records and then broken her own records three times after. On Sunday’s meet, she broke the Continentals’ record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.49 seconds. She also took third in the 400-meter dash.
In the hammer throw, Hull set her own personal record and also qualified for the 2017 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Outdoor Championships in the event. Her throw was 45.38 meters, or 148 feet and 10.5 inches. In the distance events, Fish placed fourth in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:51.36. Anaidys Uribe ’19 placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the same event that Murdick placed in on Sunday for the men’s team. Senior Lindsey Heyer placed twelfth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 19:25.92.
Berry commented on the team’s success and the welcoming nature of Hamilton athletics. “I could not have asked for a more exciting season with a better group of people,” she said. “Though we mostly participate in individual events, the track team has unmatched chemistry.”
Hamilton’s Track and Field will hopefully continue to build off their strong chemistry in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Upstate Classic this weekend.