The Amherst College men’s track team participated in the annual Valentine Invitational at Boston University last weekend. Running against a competitive field of teams from Divs. I, II and III, the team looked to build on the momentum of the recent victory at the Springfield Invitational and a strong performance at the Tufts Cupid Challenge.

Senior Romey Sklar led the Jeffs with a time of 2:29.26 in the 1,000-meter run, claiming 24th place, the team’s best finish on the day. Brent Harrison ’16 impressed in the middle distances as well, posting a 1:55.61 in the 800 meters en route to 59th place. Teammate Chris Butko ’18 was not far behind, claiming 64th place with a time of 1:56.16.

Nick Codola ’15 and Jamie Sandel ’17 impressed in the sprinting events with top performances in the sparingly contested 500 meters. Codola laid down a strong time of 1:06.98 in one of the early heats to eventually claim 32nd place before Sandel bested his teammate by a little over a half-second to finish in 1:06.28.

In the distance events, Greg Turissini ’15 provided a standout performance with a time of 8:16.58 in the 3,000-meter run, claiming 30th place.

Khalil Flemming ’16 claimed another 30th place finish for the Jeffs with a 13.00 m. mark in the triple jump.

Codola, Harrison and Sandel then competed in the 4x400 meters along with David Ingraham ’18, claiming a 30th place finish with a mark of 3:22.0.

This meet provided the stiffest competition of the season for the Jeffs. The team next travels to Springfield this Saturday to compete in New England Div. III championships.

The women’s track team travelled to Boston University on Friday, Feb. 13 to take part in the Valentine Invitational, competing against some of the top athletes in the Northeast from all divisions across collegiate athletics.

Karen Blake ’17 highlighted the day for the Jeffs with two top-50 finishes. She finished 16th overall in the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line in a time of 7.82 seconds. She also ran a time of 25.49 in the 200-meter dash to claim an impressive 50th place in the 228-person field.

Kelli Ellingson and Olivia Tarantino provided top performances in the 1,000-meter run. Ellingson crossed the finish line in 3:01.87 to eventually claim 52nd place, while Tarantino finished in 3:05.16 two heats later en route to 59th place.

Lexi Sinclair ’16 led the Jeffs in the distance events with a time of 9:56.42 in the 3,000 meters to cross the line in 42nd place.
Other top performers for the purple and white included Taylor Summers ’16, who claimed 48th place in the 60-meter dash with a mark of 8.04 seconds.

Keelin Moehl ran a time of 2:20.58, claiming 87th place in a field of 180 in the 800-meter run.

Nicky Roberts finished the one-mile run in 70th place with a time of 5:06.18, while Savanna Gornisiewicz posted a mark of 10:07.78 to cross the line in 58th place.

In the field events, Becky Golia ’18 claimed 23rd place in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.55 meters.

The team will travel to Smith College this Saturday, Feb. 21 for the Div. III New England Championships. Following this weekend’s meet, the team only has two more regular season meets before NCAA Div. III Championships in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.