Ephs host Williams Invitational
The Williams mens track & field team hosted its one and only outdoor meet of the season on Saturday. The Ephs, under decidedly calm winds, played host to Saint Rose and Plattsburgh at the Williams Invitational in a non-scoring meet that included Williams College alumni among the competitors. Despite the low-key atmosphere beneath the overhanging purple mountains, the Williams competitors took solid control of their events, claiming many top finishes.
Senior Deividis Seferis and sophomore Sy Schotz stepped up to lead the Ephs in the short sprint events, as Seferis won the 100-meter dash in 11.08 seconds and Schotz took first in the 200 in 23.13. The two talented sprinters were given the chance to showcase their speed as the Eph's top sprinter, senior Andrew Arons, moved up to the 400-meter dash.
Arons' move to the 400 allowed some of the team's middle distance runners the chance to test their mettle against him across the one-lap race. In addition to Arons, sprinter junior Alex Hoerman stepped into the race after taking the indoor season off. As the gun went off, Arons quickly took the lead, with sophomore Edgar Kosgey trying to keep even. But, as the runners neared the final stretch, and then approached the finish line, Arons (49.71) and Hoerman (50.37) closed to finish in second and third place, respectively. Plattsburgh's Jeff Dobson (49.67) claimed the "W" as he beat Arons by just .04 seconds.
Another Eph who raced a different distance than what his usual repertoire showcases was sophomore Corey Watts. Watts, known for his high-mileage training and toughness over long distances, dropped down to race the 1500-meter run. For much of the race, it seemed that the battle for first place was between Plattsburgh's Ben Jackson and the Eph's junior Brooks Udelsman. As the race neared its end, however, Udelsman began to fade as Watts made a furious charge to catch Jackson over the last 150 meters. Just running out of distance, Watts had to settle for a respectable second place in 4:14.56, as Jackson took the victory just half a second ahead of him in 4:14.02.
The distance events featured Williams' traditional strong purple pack, as all the entrants in the 3000-meter run were Williams athletes at one time or another (Chris Ellis-Ferrara '07 was thrown into the mix of current Williams runners). The race was won by senior Corey Levin, and Ellis-Ferrara followed close behind as three more Ephs crossed the line within 15 seconds. Colin Carroll '07, a classmate of Ellis-Ferrara, took first in the 5000-meter run in 15:45.69.
Senior Stew Buck and junior Matt Desir led Williams in the hurdles races, as the two packed a 1-2 punch in the 400-meter hurdles race. Buck led from the start, cruising to victory in 57 seconds flat, and Desir came in just under a second behind him in 57.92. In the 110-meter high hurdles, Isaac Nicholson claimed fourth place in 18.43 seconds.
The field events were dominated by the Ephs as much as the running events were. In the throws, the Ephs had two near-sweeps of places 1-2-3 in the shot put and the discus. In the shot, senior Andrew DeSalvo dominated to take first with a throw of 14.15 meters, and freshman Syvad Young (12.16m) claimed second over junior Nate Newburg (12.05m). Young came back in the discus throw to win handily over second place - his throw of 36.37 meters beat second by nearly two meters.
Williams had another sweep in the triple jump as places one through four went to the Ephs. Sophomore John Dingee continued to lead the Eph triplers as he jumped 13.34 meters. Fellow sophomore Henry Montalbano jumped to second in 12.68 meters, as senior David Kessel and freshman Steve Rubin followed in 12.58 and 12.36 meters, respectively.
The Ephs next compete at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, to take on top competition before readying for the Little Three Championship, which is the next weekend.
