The Amherst women’s outdoor track and field team kicked off its season this past weekend by competing at the Tufts Snowflake Classic in Medford, MA. A strong showing by many underclassmen led the Mammoths to a 14th-place finish out of a talented 22-team pool.

Amherst performed well in the sprint and mid-distance events. Anna Buford ’20 clocked in a time of 13.56 seconds to claim 16th in the 100-meter dash.

Buford continued to show well in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 15th-place with a time of 27.74. Fellow first-year Jenny Mazzella claimed a 14th-place finish in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 1:06.90.

In the middle-distance events, Christina Scartelli ’19 and Kaeli Mathias ’18 finished back-to-back in the 800-meter race, claiming 23rd and 24th place with times of 2:29.54 and 2:30.07, respectively.

The Mammoths had several impressive showings in the 1,500-meter run with four runners within the top 20. First-year Katherine Treanor, continuing her dominance from both the indoor track and cross-country seasons, finished fifth with a time of 4:52.21. Senior Savanna Gornisiewicz finished just behind Treanor in sixth, clocking in with a time of 4:53.85. Leonie Rauls ’18 finished 13th with a time of 4:57.36, while Tess Frenzel ’17 crossed the line just behind Rauls, clinching 19th place in 5:00.34.

Underclassmen continued to impress with several top five finishes. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase Kristin Ratliff ’20 finished with a time of 12:03.82 that placed her fourth. First-year Kaitlyn Siegel impressed in the field events with a fourth-place showing in the high jump, thanks to a leap of 1.58 meters.

In the relay events, Amherst placed 10th in the 4x100 meter relay with Buford, Caroline Ferguson-Dryden ’20, Arianna Mordy ’20 and Katherine Hom ’19 clocking in a time of 53.61.

The Mammoths return to action on Saturday, April 8, when they will host the Amherst Spring Fling at Lehrman Stadium. The meet starts at 11 a.m.