The men's track season is reaching a highly competitive point, as competition shifts toward individual performances. However, the team has some strong performances to build on as a result of its performance last weekend.
The men traveled to Tufts this past weekend for the NESCAC Championships. In a competitive meet amongst all of its biggest rivals, the team had some season-best performances to place sixth with 57.5 points, just behind Middlebury. Williams claimed the championship title. Although the team was aiming for a higher place overall, there were still a number of impressive performances.
Among the best finishes of the day was senior Kyle Hebert, who won the 200-meter dash with a personal best time of 22.40 seconds and added a third place finish in 400-meter. Captain Thompson Ogilvie '10 placed second in the 1500-meter, missing first by only .22 seconds. Fellow senior Colman Hatton and first year standout Sam Chick added a pair of fourth place finishes in the 10,000-meter and 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
There were also a number of impressive performances in the field events. Perhaps the most surprising was the javelin throw. Sophomore Mason Moss began the day seeded 10th in the Javelin, but after a monster throw of 57.78 meters (189 feet, 7 inches), he placed third overall. It was a major point swing for the men, and was over 20 feet better than Moss's previous best.
The 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Matt Gamache '13, Brett Stein '12, Chick '13 and Riker Wikoff '12 placed second overall, with a season-best time of 3:22.35. It was a close race that came down to the anchor leg, where Wikoff just out-kicked both Middlebury and Tufts to place second behind Amherst.
Following was the distance medley relay. Matt Hillard '12 started off with a strong 1,200-meter before passing the baton to Hebert, who ran another impressive 400-meter. Next was Sophomore Colin Fong in the 800-meter, who moved into the top group before passing off to Ogilivie, who finished third overall after completing a mile.
Overall, Hebert was happy with the performances.
"We had many athletes run their season's best times in some really good races," he said. "I think most guys are excited about their performances and we can hopefully improve on them in the upcoming meets."
Now the size of the team dwindles as the competition gets much tougher and the qualification standards much higher. This weekend, the men will return to Tufts for the D-III New England Championships. On a familiar track, the men look to improve their times and distances in hopes of qualifying for Open New Englands and Nationals.