Sports

Walsh headlines track and field at NESCAC meet

By Joe Jensen '15

The Hamilton College Outdoor Track and Field team had a strong showing at the NESCAC Championships, which were held at Colby College this past weekend.

The best performance of the meet came from Adrian Walsh ’16 who took the NESCAC title in the 10K. Her time of 35:36.93 earned her All-Conference honors and was more than four seconds faster than the second place finisher. Walsh currently owns the third-fastest time in Division III for the race.

When asked how she felt this past weekend, she responded, “This weekend felt great — it was a great race and incredibly helpful to be running neck and neck with Williams. The kick at the end was very exciting, and having the team cheering around the track undoubtedly helped. I’m hoping to continue on an upward trend!” If her time holds up in the coming weeks she will be headed to Nationals. Also performing well this past weekend was Sarah Ohanesian ’14, who placed seventh in the 1500-meter run and Michelle Fish ’17 who placed ninth in the 800-meter run.

On the men’s side the best finisher was Sampson Reider ’14 who took fourth place in the 400-meter dash. His time of 49.72 was only .3 seconds off of the school record.  Adam Pfander ’16 also ran to a seventh place finish in the 10K. Another noteworthy performance came from the team of Reider, Nate Somes ’16, Matthew McCarron ’17 and Grant Whitney ’17,  who finished seventh in the 1600-meter relay.

In the field events, the Hamilton men made a big splash, putting three men in the top eight of the hammer throw. Leading the way was captain Will Tifft ’14 taking fifth in the event. Following close behind were Dylan Berardelli ’16, placing sixth, and Matthew Peterfreund ’14, placing eighth. The three competitors threw distances of 45.45 meters, 45.21 meters and 43.35 meters, respectively. However, Peterfreund was not done yet, as he also finished with sixth place in the javelin throw, with a mark of 48.90 meters.

This weekend, the Continentals will be headed to Pittsford, N.Y. for the NYSCTC championships, hosted by St. John Fisher. Walsh will look to maintain her dominance in the 10K while also competing in the 5K. When asked how the rest of the team should perform, she responded confidently, saying, “I think everyone on the team has potential to run great races and place highly.”

She also added, “The competition will definitely be there to help push members of the team. Most girls are doubling or tripling in events, so it will be a very busy and exciting meet!”

For the men, Reider will try to improve his time and attempt to set the school record. Captain Jake London ’14 spoke very highly of Reider’s chances this weekend, saying, “We expect big things from Sampson Reider. He currently owns the second fastest time in the NYSCTC for the 400 meter dash.”

London expressed his confidence in the youth of the team, saying, “This is a young up and coming team. We are looking at this meet as chance for our guys to gain some championship experience and build on all the training and work we’ve put in over the last six months. We have a number of guys looking to compete in the 5,000 meter against the best the NYSCTC has to offer, as well as each other.”

London also said that the relay teams will also be looking to build off their performance last week,  noting,“We have dealt with a lot of injuries so we are still building the chemistry needed for a successful relay, but this week I know we are going to put it all together.”

Last, though certainly not least, the men’s throwers will want to establish themselves, hopefully even improving their marks and ultimately place higher. London specifically drew attention to this strength of the team, “Our best chance to put up points is definitely the throwers. Will Tifft and Matt Peterfreund are very capable of scoring in their respective throwing events. Dylan Berardelli has also made a big impact in his rookie season and is in a great position to get into scoring contention.”

It is safe to say the Continentals have high expectations for this weekend. They have strengths across the board and should fare very well. This is an important meet for many competitors as it is the last chance to qualify for ECACs, which will be held the weekend following NYSCTCs at Rensselaer (Troy, N.Y.).

No comments yet.

All Sports