Men

Amherst men’s indoor track and field competed at the Cupid Challenge, hosted by Tufts this past Saturday, Feb. 9. Amherst placed fifth out of the 20 teams present at the competition.

Coast Guard Academy placed first overall at the event with 91 points, followed by the hosts, Tufts, who came in with 85 total points. Amherst finished with 70 points, being beaten by MIT with 83 and Worcester State University, who had 77.

In the 400-meter dash, David Ingraham ’18 and Jamie Sandel ’17 finished in closely contested fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Ingraham crossed the line at 51.83 while Sandel followed just tenths of seconds behind at 51.86.
The Jeffs also amassed a wealth of second- place finishes on the day.

Brent Harrison ’16 ran the 600-meter in 1:24.54, a performance that earned him second place in the field.

Additionally, Kevin Connors ’17 raced to a 2:33.68 finish in the 1,000-meter, good for another silver for the Jeffs.

Craig Nelson ’18 rounded out the second place finishes for the Jeffs as he finished the mile in 4:22.01.

In longer distance events, Mohamed Hussein ’18 completed the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15.12:91, good for third place in the field.
Amherst’s distance medley team gave the Jeffs their sole first place finish on the day. The unit consisting of Romey Sklar ’15, Nick Codola ’15, Harrison and Greg Turissini ’15 completed the race with a time of 10:06.16.

“I’d say Tufts marked a turning point in our indoor season in terms of performance,”Sandel said. “Coach Miller and Coach Ned are starting to shift their focus from hard training to race preparation as we head into the post-season, and as a result people are starting to see times seriously dropping.”

The Jeffs return to action with the Valentine Classic, hosted by Boston University, this coming Saturday, Feb. 14. Last year, Amherst fared well at the meet, racing to multiple top three finishes.

“I’m pretty excited about next weekend at Boston University, because BU has some of the best indoor facilities in the nation and we’re ready to take advantage of them,” Sandel added.

Women

Amherst women’s indoor track and field also traveled to Tufts to participate in the Cupid Challenge. The women raced to an impressive third-place finish in the field of 17.

MIT earned first place on the day with 190 total points. Amherst was just edged by host Tufts who earned 115 points compared to the Jeffs’ 108 points. Little Three rival Wesleyan came in fourth with 65 points and Merrimack trailed far behind in fifth with 36 points.

In the shorter distance events, Karen Blake ’17 took home a first-place finish in the 200 meter dash. Her time was an impressive 26.20. Blake also raced in the 60-meter dash, this time placing in second at a time of 7.86.

Taylor Summers ’16 also raced in the 60 -meter dash, earning fourth place with an 8.05 finish.

In a longer distance race, Cat Lowdon ’17 and Kelli Ellingson ’15 took second and fourth respectively in the one-mile run. Lowdon finished in 5:20.88, while Ellingson followed just 10 seconds after at 5:30.04.

“It’s great to see everyone reaching their peak performances at this point in the season,” Lowdon said.

First-year Nicky Roberts competed in the 3,000-meter race, finishing third in 10:16.33.

Amherst nearly swept the 5,000-meter race, instead taking the second through fourth places. Savanna Gornisiewicz ’15 led the pack at a time of 17:32,65 while Lizzy Briskin ’15 (17:39.78) and Lexi Sinclair ’16 (17:41.14) finished in third and fourth respectively.

In team relays, Amherst’s 4x200 team earned first place with a time of 1:48.94. The team featured Summers, Louise Atadja ’16, Kiana Herold ’17 and Blake.

Herold continued her winning ways in the high jump, leaping to a 1.65 meter mark to earn first place.

“I’m really happy with our team’s performance this weekend,” Summers said. “It really showed how competitive we can be with the top teams in the NESCAC when we push ourselves.”

“The team pulled off some stellar performances and PRs at Tufts as a result of many hours practicing in the cage,” Lowdon said.

The women will also compete at the Valentine Classic this coming Saturday, Feb. 14.

“I think everyone is looking forward to compete next weekend on a banked track at BU,” Summers said. “I am excited to see how much more we can improve individually and as a team.”