The men’s and women’s track teams ushered in their seasons this weekend with a pair of meets inside the friendly walls of Barton Hall.
Both squads posted strong showings that saw the women capturing seven first-place finishes and the men boosting convincing efforts from a cadre of young talent.
The men’s competition drew 11 regional programs. However, the meet did not count toward team scores.
“The guys worked hard [in the offseason] to get here,” head coach Nathan Taylor remarked.
But he cautioned that the meet was the “first step in a long process,” toward the Heps championships.
The middle distance was one notable area where the Red did not post a first-place finish. However, a pair of freshman gave strong efforts in the 1000-meters as rookies Sam Mackenzie and Oliver Tassinari, garnered second- and third-place finishes, respectively.
The Red had some strong performances in the sprints as sophomore Rahim Wooley took the top spot in the 200-meters and picked up second place with a time of 7.04 in the 60-meters. Rookie Kenan Gogins ran to a first-place finish in the 400-meters.
Senior Jeremy Blanchet won the weight throw with a distance of 58’06”.
“[His] performance was a personal best. It was a good effort,” Taylor said of Blanchet’s performance.
Classmate Scott Lundy took the top spot in the pole vault.
However, it was largely the youth of the team that found itself in the winner’s circle.
This was a trend that excited Taylor.
“It was really encouraging that our top performance in most events came from either sophomores or freshman,” he said.
One of the standouts from the underclassmen was sophomore Jeremy Hart, who emerged victorious in the long jump and placed second in the triple jump.
Headlining the women’s showing was sophomore Merili Mosley who garnered a first place finish in the 60-meter hurdles finals with a time of 9:24.
“People did a very good job working over the fall, and it showed,” praised head coach Lou Duesing.
Duesing had particularly strong words for the efforts of sophomore Hannah Garrity, who took first place in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Her showing in the 60, Duesing believed, would have qualified her for the finals in last year’s Heptagonals.
Senior Emily Eigel won the weight competition with a personal best. Duesing was particularly pleased that she solidified the victory on her last throw — evidence of her intensity.
As with the men, the women’s youngsters showed promise. Freshman Jessica Brown collected second-place finishes in the high jump and the 200-meters. She also ran a school record in the four by four relay in which she was the fastest leg.
“They’re going to have some great days in their four years here,” Duesing predicted of his freshman.
Archived article by Gary Schueller