Ephs fly at Cardinal Invitational
Note: This weekend, the Williams Track & Field team split into two separate squads to compete on the eastern edge of the northeast. Part of the men's team traveled to Boston University to race at the Valentine Invitational, while the other competitors traveled to Wesleyan University for the Wesleyan University Cardinal Invitational.
On Saturday at the Wesleyan University Cardinal Invitational, a selection of Eph runners tried their best to hit qualifying marks for the upcoming Division III Championships, or to improve upon previous season bests and gain strength and experience for future competitions.
Although few qualifying marks were achieved, there were many solid performances across the meet – Williams runners placed seven athletes in the top-3 of various events ranging from the high jump to the 3000 meter run.
Many of the team’s field events athletes competed at this Wesleyan meet rather than the Valentine Invitational because of the overwhelming number of entries for the meet in Boston. Rather than having to wait around idly between throws – as they would have had to do in Boston - this smaller meet allowed for multiple trials in the events.
The throwers racked up solid tosses in the weight throw and shot put events. Freshman Syvad Young placed fifth and seventh in the shot put and weight throw, respectively. He threw 12.88 meters in the shot, and his weight throw of 13.00 meters placed him just behind teammate Matt Farley ’11, who edged him out with a toss of 13.33 meters. In the shot put, sophomore Nate Newburg threw 11.61 meters to claim eighth place.
Across the track, the jumpers experienced similar success in the high and triple jumps. Freshman Isaac Nicholson took third in the high jump with a leap of 1.76 meters, missing second place by only two inches. Sophomore John Dingee jumped a few times down the runway and landed 13.31 meters from where he started – good enough to earn him fifth place in the triple jump.
Just a few sprinters were here holding down the fort in the running events. Nicholson added a sixth place (10.43) in the 55 meter hurdles to his third place high jump, while much of the team’s running success came from the middle-distance and distance groups. In the 3000 meter run, Eph runners took first, third, and fourth places in a near sweep of the top spots. Junior Steve Van Wert claimed his first collegiate track victory in a time of 9:25.74. Sophomore Cullen Roberts followed in 9:34.24, with Ryan Ford ’09 close on his heels in 9:35.27 for fourth place. In the mile run, freshman Jason Rappaport grabbed third place in a time of 4:43.41, just a few steps behind sophomore Dan Gura (1st, 4:37.53).
The Ephs have one more meet next weekend at Tufts University before the championship season begins with the Division III New England Championships the following weekend.
