Men

Five members of the Amherst College men’s indoor track and field team competed at the 2015 NCAA Division III championships on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Amherst claimed 32nd overall in the 66-team field.

In Friday’s action, Mohamed Hussein ’18, one of two Amherst athletes to qualify for an individual event on the national stage, ran the 5,000-meter run after qualifying at the NEICAAA championships. The first-year crossed the line in a time of 14:57.63 to claim 13th overall.

Amherst’s distance medley relay team of Romey Sklar ’15, David Ingraham ’18, Brent Harrison ’17 and Greg Turissini ’15 competed later on Friday. The quartet crossed the line third overall with a time of 9:59.56, claiming All-American status by finishing in the top eight. The squad had previously set the NCAA Division III record in the event with a time of 9:48.61 (adjusted to 9:56.62) at the NEICAAA championships.

Turissini then returned to the track on Saturday in order to compete in the 3,000-meter run. The senior finished in a time of 8:29.02, claiming 11th overall.

“Entering the meet, the primary goal was to place in the top eight and secure an All-American finish,” Turissini said. “However, given our performance a few weeks ago at the NEICAAA championships at Boston University, we felt like we had what it took to win it all. We put ourselves out there, and even had the lead for a while, but ultimately fell short of winning the race. All in all, we are pleased with our third place finish.”

With the indoor season concluded, the Jeffs now begin preparations for the outdoor campaign.
Women

Five athletes from the Amherst College women’s indoor track and field team competed at the 2015 NCAA Division III championships on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Jeffs claimed 29th place in the 67-team field, while sophomore Kiana Herold earned All-American status in the high jump.

In the first day of action, Karen Blake ’17 competed in the 60-meter dash, finishing 12th overall with a time of 7.75 seconds. Savannah Gornisiewicz ’17 followed up with the 5,000-meter run later on Friday. A bizarre lap counting error by the meet officials meant that none of the athletes recorded official times. Gornisiewicz claimed 14th place after officials determined the runners’ placements based on their positions after 4,800 meters.

“It was a little silly for such a huge mistake to happen at a meet as important as nationals,” Gornisiewicz said after the race. “Luckily, my coach, Cassie, was aware that the officials were wrong from the beginning and kept me informed so my race wasn’t affected. However, seeing the girls who were affected was frustrating. I think making that sort of mistake was negligent on the officials’ part.”

On Saturday, Lexi Sinclair ’16 and Lizzy Briskin ’15 each competed in the 3,000 meters. Sinclair crossed the line in a time of 10:08.90 to claim 12th overall, and Briskin finished with a mark of 10:14.05 to claim 14th.

Herold, competing in the high jump, recorded a leap of 1.69 meters to place third in the event, garnering All-American status by finishing in the top eight.

“The competition at nationals was amazing. It was definitely more stressful to compete with high-level Division III athletes than it is typically with Division I or II athletes,” Sinclair said. “My teammates performed really well, especially Kiana in the high jump, and it was really exciting to take part in the meet.”

With the indoor season concluded, the Jeffs now prepare for the 2015 outdoor campaign.