In their last regular-season meet before the NESCAC Track and Field Championships, the Mammoths competed at the Tufts Sunshine Classic, finishing in third place. For some Amherst athletes, it was their last competition of the season, as the season’s remaining meets have qualifying standards. For the NESCAC championship meet, teams are limited to three entries per event, each of whom must meet the NESCAC qualifying standard.

The action on the track started with the 110-meter hurdles, in which Maxim Doiron ’19 and Yonas Shiferaw ’20 qualified for the finals of the event. In the preliminary round, Shiferaw set a new personal best with a time of 16.13 seconds, notching another personal best in the finals with a time of 15.86 seconds.

“Even though it was a small meet, everyone was still motivated to get personal and season bests,” Shiferaw said. “I’m excited that I get to end my season next week at one of the biggest meets of the year.”

In the 100-meter dash, Biafra Okoronkwo ’20 qualified for the finals with a time of 11.83 seconds, and then set a personal best in the finals with a time of 11.70 seconds with his third-place finish.

First-year Braxton Schuldt returned to the steeplechase after his debut last weekend at the Silfen Invitational, and placed sixth in a time of 10:16, a two-second improvement from last weekend.

Billy Massey ’21 took to the track for the 1,500 meters and came away with a second-place finish and time of 4:03. The first-year competed well, as did teammate Jack Malague ’19, who placed third in the same event with a time of 4:06 to set a new personal best by two seconds.

The Mammoths made their presence known in the 400-meter dash, as David Ingraham ’18 led the team with his third-place finish and time of 51.23 seconds, and Kyland Smith ’21 placed fourth right behind him in a time of 51.47 seconds.

Ryan Prenosil ’21, a member of the indoor 4x400 relay that had qualified for nationals, placed sixth in a time of 51.54 seconds, while Brad Besson ’20 ran a time of 51.88 seconds for seventh place.

Ermias Kebede ’19 was the Mammoths’ sole competitor in the 800, placing fourth in a time of 2:01.

The 400-meter hurdlers were led by Alex Mangiafico ’20, who claimed third in a time of 59.57 seconds. Jack Dufton ’20 placed fourth in a time of 1:01, and Andrew Swenson ’21 took sixth in a time of 1:02.

Cornell Brooks ’19 set a new personal best in the discus with a throw of 36.90 meters (121’ 1”) to place fifth. Sam Amaka ’19 earned second in the hammer throw with a personal-best throw of 45.05 meters (147’ 10”). Elorm Yevudza ’19 placed third behind him, with a personal-best throw of 41.71 meters (136’ 10”).

Mayowa Tinubu ’20 was the only Mammoth in the 200 meters, finishing sixth in a time of 23.47 seconds.
The highlight of the day was the Mammoths’ stellar 4x400 relay, which won the event in a time of 3:20. Because host Trinity has a six-lane track, only the six fastest teams in the conference will be in the fast section for next week’s championship meet.

The Mammoths only ran two members of the nationals-qualifying relay from this past indoor season, as Stanley Dunwell ’20 and Harrison Haigood ’18 joined Vernon Espinoza ’19 and Prenosil.
Dunwell rose to the occasion, running an excellent leadoff leg to put the Mammoths in first place going into the first exchange. The Mammoths never let go of the lead, as Espinoza ran a speedy 48.8 seconds for his leg to hand off to Prenosil, who maintained the team’s position in the lead, and Haigood ran the race of his life, splitting 49.3 seconds to anchor the team to victory. The senior’s personal best in the event is 51.21 seconds, and he ran nearly two full seconds faster than that to put the Mammoths in an excellent position at the NESCAC Championships.

Next weekend, the Mammoths seek to improve upon their seventh-place finish at last year’s conference championship meet. After the NESCAC Championship, the Mammoths will compete at the New England Division III and Open New England Championships, as well as the MIT Last Chance meet in an attempt to qualify for the Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, which will be hosted by University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at the SPIRE Institute on May 24-26.