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(03/12/20 9:56am)
The Panthers recently participated in the Tufts National Qualifying Meet on Saturday, Mar. 7. The non-scoring meet featured quite a few impressive performances.
Both the men and the women’s squads competed hard. In the 800-meter run, Nicole Johnson ’22 captured second and Emily Bulczynski ’22 captured fourth. Other impressive performers were Meg Wilson ’20, Katie Glew ’21, and Katelyn Pease ’22. The women’s 4 X 400-meter relay “A” team captured first.
“I am so proud of how we did as a team this weekend,” said Grace Desmond ’23, a member of the 4 X 400 “A” team. “We went out and competed hard and were able to drop over 5 seconds from our time at D3 New England’s. We had our eyes on NCAAs and just wanted to go out and do our best!”
On the men’s side, Will Meyer ’20 came in sixth place in the 1-mile run. Jonathan Fisher ’20 placed second in the high jump event and Nathaniel Klein ’21 got sixth in the shot-put event.
“High jump didn’t go quite as well as I had wanted, but it was still a solid performance,” said Fisher. “I had put together a string of really good practices and meets…and was hoping to set a new personal best.”
Up next will be the fated NCAA Championships which will take place on Friday, Mar. 13 and Saturday, Mar. 14. “The team is looking forward to nationals with great anticipation,” said Fisher. “Though only a few of us are going to compete, we will all be watching and cheering on our teammates from campus. We also have a number of first-time qualifiers, which is always exciting to see and bodes well for the team in the future.”
“We are all so excited for the upcoming NCAA Championships!” said Desmond. “I think we will just continue to do some fine tuning this week, making sure we are taking care of the small details to gear up for Friday night!”
(03/05/20 11:20am)
The Panthers had a great outing at the Division III New England Championships on Feb. 28 and Feb. 29. The women earned sixth place, while the men took twelfth.
Gretchen McGrath ’21 led the pack with her fourth place finish in the 400-meter dash. In the 800-meter run, Cassidy Kearney ’22, Meg Wilson ’20, and Nicole Johnson ’22 chased after one another, picking up third, fourth, and fifth places respectively. It is also important to mention that the 4 x 400 meter relay “A” team came in fourth.
Max Cluss ’23 spoke to the men’s performance. “Overall we had a solid performance at Regionals, but we wish we performed better,” Cluss said. “This indoor season we’ve been plagued with injuries so we did not race our entire team.”
Impressive performances by the men include Will Meyer ’20 who came in seventh place in the 3000-meter run. The veteran squad comprised of Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Mathew Durst ’21, and Nathan Hill ’20 grabbed fourth in the 4X400 meter relay. It is also important to mention the performance of Nathaniel Klein ’21 who captured fifth in the shot-put event.
With the completion of this meet, the Panthers near the final stretch of the indoor season. Up next the teams will once again travel to Medford for the Tufts Last Chance Meet on Saturday, Mar. 7 for another opportunity to compete before NCAA’s.
Coleman commented on the upcoming meet. “We need to take it day by day,” said Coleman. “There’s nothing else we can do but keep grinding and position ourselves to perform the best we can at Tufts.”
(02/20/20 11:34am)
The Panthers track and field teams divided and conquered over the weekend by competing in two non-scoring meets. The women’s squad competed in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 14, while some of the men participated on Feb. 15. Men and women not present at the Valentine Invitational headed to the Ephs Field & Track Meet on Feb. 15.
Some notable performances punctuated the Valentine Invitational, like Grace Desmond ’23 earning eighth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.31, or Jonathan Fisher ’20 placing eleventh in the high jump event. His jump reached 1.95 meters.
“I would say that overall, we had some great performances at BU this past weekend, which is an exciting step in the right direction for the team,” said William Robertson ’21 when asked to comment on the team’s performance.
Outstanding performances also highlighted the Ephs Field & Track Meet. Nathaniel Klein ’21 and Helene Rowland ’20 both placed first in the shot put event in their respective meets.
As the Division III New England Championships are coming up on Feb. 28 and 29, the team will have some time to build up more confidence.
“I would say that running at a track as fast as the one at BU is a great way to prep for DIII New Englands,” said Robertson. “Getting a chance to run a fast time builds confidence, which is exactly what we need going into DIIIs.”
(02/13/20 9:21pm)
The Panthers recently competed in the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 8. Even though this meet was non-scoring, the men and women still came out with solid performances.
Some impressive results for the women included a first place finish by Cassie Kearney ’22 in the 800 -meter run with a time of 2:18.22. Talia Ruxin ’20 had a time of 17:45.96 which netted her first in the 5000-meter run. Ava O’Mara ’21 and Katie Glew ’21 both captured second place in the 600-meter run and one-mile run, respectively. Also, the respective “A” teams for the women were able to come in first place in the 4x400 relay and second in the distance medley.
The men dominated the competition as well. Will Meyer ’20 finished the 3000-meter run with a time of 8:42.58, which propelled him to third place. In the 5000 meter run, Theo Henderson ’20 came in first with a time of 15:02.53. It is also worth noting the performance of Nathaniel Klein ’21. Klein shattered the school record in the shot put event with a throw of 15.17 meters.
The Panthers will travel to Massachusetts on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 for their next meet, the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Shortly after, the team will face the championship meets: the Division III New England Championships and NCAA Championships.
(01/23/20 11:08am)
The Panthers competed in the Middlebury Winterfell on Saturday, Jan. 18, with both the men and women capturing second place in their respective meets.
“Overall we are very happy with how we performed at the Middlebury Winterfell,” said Jonathan Fisher ’20. “It was the first meet of the season for many of the people who were competing, so it was a good chance for us to shake off the rust from a long offseason.”
William Robertson ’21 and Fisher, who both competed in the 600-meter run, came in second and third place respectively. Other notable finishes were Moran Justin ’23 who got first in the long jump event and Nathaniel Klein ’21 who got first in the weight throw event.
For the women, the “A” team got first in the 4X400 meter relay; this team was composed of Julia McClain ’22, Julia Munz ’22, Audrey Grimes ’23, and Ava O’Mara ’21. Other important contributors were Grace Desmond ’23 with a second place finish in the high jump event, and Emily Ray ’20 with a first place finish in the weight throw event.
“I would say that we are quite confident at this point in the season,” said Fisher. “We have obviously had plenty of team success in the past few years, with both the men’s and women’s teams coming off top-two finishes at the NESCAC championships last year, and we are certainly in the mix again this year.”
The Panthers will try to continue their successes when they compete in the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 25. Since this will be the team’s last home meet for until a while, make sure to go out and show your support.
(09/19/19 10:03am)
Cross country
By JORDAN HOWELL
The Middlebury cross country team competed in the Bates Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14. The women finished in third place, while the men captured fourth place.
“The men's and women's cross country teams are excited now that the season is underway!” Talia Ruxin ’20 said. “It was awesome to lace up with the first-years this weekend, and we are feeling lots of positive energy.”
On the women’s side, Ruxin was able to capture seventh place with a time of 18:44.5, while Cassie Kearney ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 19:07.8. For the men, Quinlan McGaugh ’22 came in 10th place with a time of 26:34.4, while a time of 26:44.0 propelled Jack Litowitz ’20 to a 13th place finish.
“The Bates Invitational was a fun race and a great opportunity to run against some strong NESCAC competition early in the season,” McCaugh said.
Regarding the upcoming Aldrich Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 21, Litowitz was optimistic.
“A combination of the experience fresh off of a meet this past weekend, spiking up and running on our home course should allow the team to improve this week over last, and carry the positive momentum forward onto the bigger meets where it counts," he said.
Football
By LAUREN BOYD
The Panther football team kicked off their season with a 17–13 win against the Williams Ephs on Saturday, Sept. 14, scoring the game-winning touchdown with less than a minute on the clock.
The start of the second quarter opened up the scoring game. Carter Massengill ’20 put the first points of the game on the board, scoring a field goal from 25 yards out.
Later in the second quarter, the Panthers scored an 18–yard touchdown, gaining a 10–0 lead. The rest of the second quarter, however, was commanded by the Williams offense. Between the second and third quarters, the Ephs scored 13 unanswered points.
With just one minute and 30 seconds left in the game, the Panthers marched down the field behind Jernigan. A series of short passes and 10-yard gains led the Panthers to the 2-yard line, where Jernigan punched in the game-winning touchdown. Massengill tapped in the extra point, making the final score 17–13.
Men’s golf
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s golf team finished at the podium for this past weekend’s Duke Nelson Invitational. The Invitational took place at Middlebury’s Ralph Myhre Golf Course and featured 23 teams from around the region. After a strong start atop the standings at the end of day one, the Panthers finished the tournament in third place, just one stroke behind Williams.
Jordan Bessalel ’21 and co-captain Jeffrey Giguere ’20 shined on day one, coming in at sixth and third place respectively. Giguere finished out day two in first place by one stroke ahead of Williams’ Will Kannegieser. Giguere earned a combined score of 142. Neither Bessalel nor Giguere’s heroics were quite enough to lift the Panthers into second place as a team. New York University finished first.
After a strong showing, the Panthers will have little time to rest before heading down to their rivals’ turf in Williamstown for the Williams Fall Invitational.
Women’s golf
By MICHAEL SEGEL
The Panthers outdid last year’s performance at the St. Lawrence Invitational, this year coming in second place out of nine teams. On Sept. 7–8, five players from the women’s golf team came together to accomplish this feat. Their impressive performance can largely be attributed to the work of Blake Yaccino ’20, who finished third overall out of 47 participants. Classmate Chloe Levins ’20 wasn’t far behind, finishing in a tie for seventh overall.
Coming off the strong showing at the St. Lawrence Invitational, the women then competed in the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational on Sept. 14–15. They came in third overall behind Williams College and Wellesley College. Katie Murphy ’23 finished tied for second overall out of 42 golfers, shooting a two-over par 146 (74–72). Yaccino finished tied for fifth at 154 (76–78), while Levins finished tied for 18th with a 164 (84–80). Elizabeth Kenter ’23 finished tied for 27th, shooting a 169 (85–84), and Kayla Li ’23 finished in 29th with a 170 (85–85). The Panthers will be swinging back in action next week at the Mount Holyoke Invitational.
Men’s tennis
By JACK KAGAN
The men’s tennis team fell just short of divisional titles in four of four singles brackets this past weekend at the Middlebury Invitational on the Proctor Tennis Courts.
Though the squad is currently beginning a rebuilding process after losing its top two players to graduation, a bright future might not be so far away. The top singles flight saw unseeded Stan Morris ’22 blaze through to the finals, taking out the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds in the process.
Robby Ward ’23 also made a run to the finals in the B singles draw, knocking off No. 1 seed Brandeis sophomore Jeff Chen. David Vilys ’22 and Zach Hilty ’22 also made it to the finals in their respective C and D singles draws, and will look to use the momentum to propel themselves into a consistent starting role come spring time.
Surprisingly, the two doubles draws were devoid of Middlebury teams past the quarterfinals, likely owing to sets of entirely new doubles pairings.
The tournament featured teams such as Tufts University and Brandeis College, with whom the Panthers will have to contend if they want to stay at the top of DIII tennis.
Men’s soccer
By ERIK ARVIDSSON
After starting the NESCAC season with a scoreless double overtime tie, the Panthers traveled last weekend to Brunswick, Maine to take on the Bowdoin Polar Bears. For the second week in a row, the Panthers struggled connecting with the back of the net. The team finished with six shots on goal compared to Bowdoin’s 15 and neither were able to score. The game ended at 0–0.
The man of the match was goalkeeper Ryan Grady ’23. Grady made six saves to complete his second shutout of the year. The Panthers remain positive despite not scoring in two consecutive games.
“We have been doing all the right things,” Jack Spiridellis ’21 said. “We just need to put the ball into the back of the net, then we will win games.”
Up next, the Panthers played their home opener against Mt. St. Mary of New York on Sept. 17 (which occured after this issue was sent to print). The Panthers will round out the week with a home double-header this weekend against Hamilton on Saturday and Castleton on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Women’s tennis
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
The Middlebury women’s tennis team journeyed down Route 7 this past weekend for the Lindsay Morehouse Invitational at Williams College. The invitational followed a round-robin format in which the Panthers competed against three other teams in a full weekend of doubles and singles. No individual team was awarded champion.
On Friday, Sept. 13, three of four doubles pairs picked up victories against Skidmore. The following day, Middlebury swept RPI in three doubles matches, but only took two of three doubles matches against Williams. For singles, Middlebury swept RPI in all five contests.
Middlebury faced Skidmore again on Sunday for singles and won four of six matches. Against Williams, the Panthers won all three singles matches and won their only doubles contest.
The women will use this weekend to prepare for the ITA Regional Championships that kick off at home on Sept. 27.
Women’s soccer
By JENNY LANGERMAN
Women’s soccer had another successful week, winning both of this week’s games to put them at five total wins and zero losses.
The Panthers first faced SUNY Plattsburgh on the road. Despite solid play from their opponents, Middlebury was ultimately able to shut them out two-zip with goals from captain Jinx Charman ’20 and Leah Salzman ’21, and the help of strong defensive play.
Middlebury then hit the road once again to play the Bowdoin Polar Bears, having to put up a tougher fight in their second game of the week. The Bears got an early lead, scoring within the first eight minutes of play. The Panthers matched them with a goal from Salzman, but were unable to pull ahead until the very end. With just a minute and a half of game time left, captain Ellie Greenberg ’20 was able to hook one into the side of the net, securing the win.
The Panthers now have a week to regroup and prepare before their next match against conference-opponent, Hamilton College, on their home turf this Saturday, Sept. 21.
Volleyball
By HEATHER BOEHM
Middlebury Women’s Volleyball fell to an undefeated Clarkson on an unlucky Friday, Sept. 13, and split their weekend contests with a win over Potsdam and a loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday, Sept. 14.
In their first battle of the weekend against Clarkson, the Panthers came out expecting a war. Although they put some numbers on the board, they ultimately fell in straight sets to the 23rd-ranked team in the country. Gigi Alper ’20 led the Panther defense, picking up 13 digs for the night. Jane Nelson ’22 built on her teammates’ efforts and led the offense with six kills.
After a hard loss, Middlebury got back to work. The women triumphed over Potsdam with a decisive 3–0 victory. This time around it was Maggie Wise ’22, who took control of the Panther offense tallying 11 kills.
Although the Panthers were hungry for more, the women fell just short of a victory over St. Lawrence. Middlebury rolled through the first two sets before St. Lawrence stole the next two right back. Middlebury was then defeated by the Saints in the fifth set 15–12.
The Panthers will journey to Maine over the weekend, where they will compete against Colby on Friday, Sept. 20 and Bates on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Field hockey
By DAN MIGUEL ESPINOSA
Field hockey fared successfully on their Sept. 14–15 road trip, defeating ninth-ranked Bowdoin College and 18th-ranked Babson College, 1–0 and 2–0, respectively. The Panthers had difficulty stirring up scoring opportunities during the first half against the Bowdoin Polar Bears. But they gained momentum in the third quarter, outshooting the Polar Bears 3–0. Finally, the Panthers scored 30 seconds into the fourth quarter. The 1–0 score remained until the end of the game.
Against Babson, Middlebury struck early twice in the first quarter. The Panthers struggled scoring for the remainder of the game, but still made some spectacular stops.
Correction: A previous version of the cross country recap included outdated information and dates.
(09/12/19 10:03am)
With the new school year comes a new season of cross country, and the men’s and women’s cross country teams are aiming to surpass the success that they experienced last season. The men ended last season with a third place finish in the Nescac Championships and a 15th place finish in the NCAA Championships. The women ended last season by winning the NESCAC Championships as well as capturing eighth place in the NCAA Championships.
“Our main goal is to keep everyone healthy and see everyone reach their peak at the right time,” Anna Willig ’20 said.
The Panthers took their first step towards reaching their peak at the Vermont Tech Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7. Both the men’s and women’s teams captured first place in their respective races. For the men, the Panthers captured 12 of the first 17 places, with Henry Fleming coming in first. For the women, the Panthers captured 13 of the first 17 places. Talia Ruxin ’20 placed first amongst all runners.
“Team spirits are very high right now,” Willig said. “We have had a fantastic week of training during preseason and are very excited about everyone who’s new to the team this year. We have a strong, deep, talented team, and everyone is excited to see what we can do this year.”
Already on track with their goals, the cross country team will be prepping for the Bates Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 14.
(05/09/19 9:52am)
The Middlebury track and field team competed well in the Division III New England Championships on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.
Previously, Nick Hendrix ’20 said the team would prepare for the meet with a “business as usual” attitude. “There will probably a bit more of an individual focus as athletes concentrate on their best events and try to get qualifying marks,” Hendrix said. “As far as training goes, we’re all in good shape now, so our volume will go down and staying fresh is the priority.”
The men’s team finished in third place with 64 points. They were behind MIT, who finished with 139.50 points and Tufts, who finished with 89.50 points. To start the meet off, Hendrix finished in third place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.76. Nathan Hill ’20 came in first place in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:50.56.
On the 800-meter race, Hill said, “It was a great race. New England is particularly strong in the 800, and so tough competition usually breeds fast times. I always look forward to competing against that group.”
In the 1500-meter run, Jon Perlman ’19 and Will Meyer ’20 came in third and fourth place, respectively. Perlman had a time of 3:53.37 and Meyer had a time of 3:53.40. Theo Henderson’s time of 14:56.28 placed him second in the 5000-meter run. The 4x100 meter relay team composed of Noah Wagner-Carlberg ’19, Hendrix, Arden Coleman ’20 and Conor Banky ’19 got third place with a time of 42.08. A throw of 59.73 meters got Minhaj Rahman ’19 the win in the hammer throw event. Also, John Natalone ’19 captured third in the pole vault event, while Jack Litowitz ’20 ended in fourth in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
“I think we performed very well at this meet,” Perlman said. “It can be tough to come back from such an emotional meet like NESCACs, but we were still able to have a large number of people get personal bests and position themselves high up on the national qualifying list.”
The women’s team tied for seventh place in a total field of 34 teams with 34 points, while Williams and MIT came in first and second place respectively. The Panthers scored well in many of the races at the meet. Cassidy Kearney ’22 captured third place and Meg Wilson ’20 captured fourth place in the 800-meter run. Kearney finished with a time of 2:11.55, while Wilson had a time of 2:13.37. In the 1500-meter run, the Panthers were able to finish in the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Here, Abigail Nadler ’19 had a time of 4:38.86, Rory Kelly ’19 had a time of 4:38.98 and Kate MacCary ’19 had a time of 4:40.35. The 4x400-meter relay team was able to come in fifth place with a time of 3:53.72. This team was composed of Lucy Lang ’19, Ava O’Mara ’21, Julia Munz ’22, Kearney and Gretchen McGrath ’21. Kreager Taber ’19 came in fourth in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.51 meters. Also, a throw of 39.96 meters placed Rebecca Gorman ’20 sixth in the javelin throw event.
Kearney said, “I was really excited and surprised with my performance at the meet this past weekend ... My coach (Nicole Wilkerson) is always cognizant of how to construct workouts so that athletes peak at the right time in the season, and I think that the performances in D3’s overall really showed how everyone is at their highest fitness level. I PR’ed by two seconds in the 800 to run 2:11, and I also was part of the 4x4 relay, in which we just barely broke the school record in 3:53.”
The Panthers’ journey to the end of the season continues, as they will participate in the Open New England Championships on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11, and then the NCAA Championships on May 23-25. This team definitely has the spirit to continue their success as the end of the season nears.
“Open New England’s always has strong competition and we plan to prepare by challenging each other each and every day in practice,” Hill said. “It has been such a successful year thus far from a team perspective and we hope to continue that success.”
Kearney added, “Many athletes realized their potential and are now focusing on what goals they can accomplish next. This end portion of the season seems super fun as the level of competition rises.”
(05/02/19 10:00am)
The Middlebury track and field team began the first part of the championship season with a bang. On Saturday, April 27, the team competed with a great deal of passion at the NESCAC Championships. The men’s team ultimately captured the gold, while the women’s team came in second to Williams.
The men were able to win the NESCAC Championships with a total score of 201 points. The great performances started with Nick Hendrix ’20, as he came in first place in both the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash. The Panthers also captured the first three places in the 400 meter dash. Jimmy Martinez ’19 came in first with a time of 50.06, Josh Howard ’19 came in second with a time of 50.89 and William Robertson ’21 came in third with a time of 51.02. It is also important to mention that Nathan Hill ’20 came in second place in the 800 meter run, while Jon Perlman ’19 and Hill came in second and third place respectively in the 1500 meter run. In the 4x100 meter relay, the Panthers finished first with a time of 42.76. This team was composed of Noah Wagner-Carlberg ’19, Hendrix, Arden Coleman ’20 and Conor Banky ’19.
“I am very happy we won the 4x100,” Banky said. “We have a great group of sprinters that work hard and continue to push each other everyday. I believe my times on Saturday are a result from everyone’s effort throughout the week.”
The Panthers also got first in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:23.35. This team was composed of Coleman, Robertson, Howard and Martinez. To finish off, Theo Henderson ’20 came in first in the 3000 meter steeplechase, John Natalone ’19 came in first in the pole vault event, Zack Sieb ’21 came in first in the discus throw and Minhaj Rahman ’19 finished first in the hammer throw.
In a total field of eleven teams, the women were able to come in second in the NESCAC Championships. The Panthers had a total of 145.50 points, while Williams came in first with 165 points. The notable performers include Gretchen McGrath ’21, who came in fourth place in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.32. McGrath also came in fifth in the 400 meter dash. Cassidy Kearney ’22 had a time of 2:15.83 in the 800 meter run to capture third place. Abigail Nadler ’19 got third place in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:39.57. Rory Kelly ’19 and Nadler captured first and second place respectively in the 5000 meter run. Kelly had a time of 17:47.74. A time of 35:58.49 placed Kate MacCary ’19 first place in the 10,000 meter run. The Middlebury “A” team won the 4x800 meter relay with a time of 9:34.62. This team was composed of Katie Glew ’21, Meg Wilson ’20, Anna Willig ’20 and Nicole Johnson ’22. Kreager Taber ’19 got second in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.55 meters. Rebecca Gorman ’20 was able to capture first place in the Javelin throw with a throw of 41.22 meters.
“The overall team had a fantastic showing at NESCACs and many people out-performed the predicted results,” Kelly said. “The women’s team really went for it despite being down some key contributors and we were all very proud of our collective work and that all of us competed bravely. In addition, it was great to see the men win the team title for the second year in a row.”
Despite an early win in the championship season, the Panthers still have a long way to go. The Division III New England Championships begins on Thursday, May 2 and goes through Saturday, May 4. I have no doubt that the Panthers can continue their dominance.
“We are heading into postseason with one of the best combined NESCAC performances Middlebury track and field has ever seen,” Gorman said. “Moving forward into championship season, the team is going to take that energy and run with it. There is more work to do and more records to be broken. We are going to show DIII Track and Field what Middlebury is made of.”
Banky adds, “Everyone’s excited to keep this train going. Even though some athletes will not move on to compete, everyone continues to support each other until competition season is over. Seeing the support within the team has been one of the best parts of getting to know this close-knit group.”
(04/25/19 9:55am)
The Middlebury track and field team competed in the Williams Invitational on Saturday, April 20. Although the meet was non-scoring, the team competed hard as this was the last meet before the NESCAC Championships.
Max Memeger ’21 said, “[…]both the men’s and women’s teams were able to put up great marks across the board in the final week before championship season. Every event group stepped it up this week and there were many huge PR’s, season bests and several school records. These performances give both teams great confidence as we look to carry this momentum into next weekends NESCAC championships.”
There were several notable performers for the women. Gretchen McGrath ’19 was able to capture first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.38. In the 800-meter run, Lucy Lang ’19 and Nicole Johnson ’22 grabbed first and second place respectively. Lang had a time of 2:19.66 and Johnson had a time of 2:21.58. Rory Kelly ’19 came in first and Meg Wilson ’20 came in second in the 1500-meter run. Kelly had a time of 4:38.98 and Wilson had a time of 4:45.72. In the 100-meter hurdles, Catherine Walker ’20 was able to get first place with a time of 15.39.
The Panthers did well in the 400-meter hurdles as they obtained the first three spots. Julia Munz ’22 came in first with a time of 1:05.54, Emily Bulczynski ’22 came in second with a time of 1:06.77, and Anna Willig ’20 came in third with a time of 1:08.97. Alex Cook ’20 placed first place in the long jump event with a jump of 5.55 meters and Simone Ameer ’21 got first in the triple jump event with a jump of 10.82 meters. It is also important to mention that the 4X100 team that came in second place was composed of Lizzie Walkes ’20, Kate Holly ’21, McGrath, and Cook.
Notable performers for the men include Jimmy Martinez ’19 and Nick Hendrix ’20 who obtained first and second place respectively in the 200-meter dash. Martinez had a time of 21.90 and Hendrix had a time of 21.92. In the 800-meter run, Jon Perlman ’19 came in second with a time of 1:54.49, while Will Meyer ’20 came in third with a time of 1:55.80. Memeger had a time of 15.63 to win the 110-meter hurdles. In the 400 meter hurdles, Jonathan Fisher ’20 got first with a time of 55.97. The Panthers had a time of 42.42 in the 4X100 meter relay. This team was composed of Noah Wagner-Carlberg ’19, Hendrix, Arden Coleman ’20, and Conor Banky ’19.
The jumpers and throwers also achieved remarkable feats. John Natalone ’19 came in first place in the pole vault event, Dylan Mortimer ’19 was first in the triple jump event, Nathaniel Klein ’21 obtained first in the shot put event, Zack Sieb ’21 got first in the discus throw, and Minhaj Rahman ’19 came in first in the hammer throw.
Next week is the start of championship season as the Panthers take part in the NESCAC championships on Saturday, April 27. The team is on track to perform well if they continue to show the strength and resiliency that they have shown all season.
On the NESCAC Championships, Walker said, “The team is super excited going into NESCACs this week; I’ve really never seen the group so united and determined so it’s going to be a great weekend. Having it on our home track I think also brings another element of energy, so hopefully we get a ton of fans out there to support.”
“To prepare for the championships this weekend, the team will be dialing back the training volume significantly and focusing on small technique changes to get the body ready for the big day of competition this Saturday,” Memeger said.
“We will also mentally lock ourselves in to get as amped as possible to pop off when the time comes. Finally we will of course continue our team tradition of lots and lots of Kombucha, doing a team flavor sampling event to build hype before NESCACS.”
(04/18/19 9:53am)
The Middlebury track and field team continued its dominance during the Silfen Invitational on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. The men came in second place, and the women came in first.
Nathan Hill ’20 said, “I thought the team performed really well this weekend. Everyone seemed to meet or exceed expectations and momentum is definitely moving in the right direction as we approach NESCACs.”
The men finished with a total of 85.5 points, while Worcester Polytechnic Institute won with 97.5 points. The Panthers had several crucial performances at this meet. Nick Hendrix ’20 captured fourth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.05. Hill finished in a time of 1:53.53 to score second in the 800 meter run. Jon Perlman ’19 came in first in the 1500 meter run, finishing with a time of 3:53.44. A time of 57.21 allowed Jonathan Fisher ’20 to come in second in the 400 meter hurdles. Theo Henderson ’20 participated in the 3000 meter steeplechase and finished with a time of 9:19.96 to get third place. It is also important to mention that the Middlebury “A” team finished in second place in the 4x400 meter relay. This team was composed of Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, Josh Howard ’19 and Jimmy Martinez ’19. Minhaj Rahman ’19 also netted first place in the hammer throw event with a throw of 57.39 meters.
The women finished with a grand total of 116 points. Point earners included Alex Cook ’20 who participated in the 200 meter dash and finished third with a time of 26.45. In the 800 meter run, Meg Wilson ’20 was able to finish with a time of 2:15.48 which got her second place. Abigail Nadler ’19 netted first place in the 1500 meter run by finishing with a time of 4:35.22. Rory Kelly ’20 came in first in the 5000 meter run with a time of 17.22.29. Kate MacCary ’19 captured a first place spot in the 10000 meter run with a time of 36:12.06.
Of her first place finish, MacCary said, “I am very happy with [the] time and effort I put forth in the race this past Friday night. This race was actually my first-ever 10k on the track, and I’m excited that I was able to have a strong debut in the event. [It] was wonderful to have the support of my teammates for the entire 36-plus minute race. Given that I am novice in the 10k, I was not at all expecting to go below 36:30.”
“My teammates who I do a majority of training with — Abigail Nadler and Rory Kelly — also had phenomenal performances in the 1500m run and the 5k respectively,” further mentioned MacCary. “It was awesome to have our strong senior women training group pick up event wins in the 1500, 5k and 10k races. I am so grateful we can train together in the coming weeks to chase after our goals and improve in our signature events.”
The Middlebury “A” team finished with a time of 3:57.41 to get second place in the 4x400 meter relay. This team was composed of Lucy Lang ’19, Ava O’Mara ’21, Julia Munz ’22 and Gretchen McGrath ’21. It is also important to mention that Rebecca Gorman ’20 came in third in the javelin throw event, Simone Ameer ’21 came in fourth in the triple jump event and Cook came in first in the long jump event.
The two upcoming meets are the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday, April 19 and the Williams Invitational on Saturday, April 20. Even with these meets ahead, the minds of the track and field team members are also on the quickly arriving NESCACs.
Hill mentioned, “NESCACs only comes to our home track once every 11 years, so there is so much excitement surrounding the event. We are all looking forward to the chance to compete in front of our friends, family and Middlebury community.”
“This upcoming weekend will be a tune-up for many team members and a chance for teammates to put forth a qualifying time for the conference championship and the DIII New England Championship,” MacCary said. “We will prepare for this coming weekend and the fast-approaching championship season by focusing on having strong practices, as well as recovering well from these workouts with proper sleep and recovery modalities. We will also look to strengthen our bonds and team dynamics to make sure we can arrive at these meets as the most cohesive and supportive squad we can possibly be. Exciting things are on the horizon for track and field.”
(04/11/19 9:51am)
Although it feels like the indoor track season ended only recently, the team is already several meets into the outdoor season. On Saturday, April 6, the team participated in the Amherst Spring Fling with impressive results.
On the team’s performance at this meet, Noah Wagner-Carlberg ’19 said, “Overall this weekend was a very exciting one for Midd Track and Field. The Amherst Spring Fling saw a lot of remarkable performances from our athletes, indicative of our growth over the course of the season and of the work we put in over spring break in San Diego. Most notably we saw terrific marks from both male and female athletes in nearly every field event, including season’s bests and personal bests.”
The women were able to capture second place in a total field of seven teams by obtaining 90 points. There were many crucial contributors to these points. Lucy Lang ’19 came in first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:19.86. Emily Bulczynski ’22 achieved second place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:08.28. In the pole vault event, Kreager Taber ’19, Molly Colwell ’20, and Leah Granger ’22 were able to get first, second, and fourth respectively. Taber vaulted 3.40 meters, Colwell 3.19 meters, and Granger 2.80 meters. In the long jump event, Alex Cook ’20 jumped 5.51 meters, Simone Ameer ’21 jumped 5.31 meters, and Jackie Topping ’22 jumped 5.26 meters. They captured the first three places in the event. It is also important to note that Helene Rowland ’20 placed first in shot put, Emily Ray ’20 came in first in the discus throw, and Rebecca Gorman ’20 ranked first in the javelin throw.
The men were able to get second place in a total field of six teams with 100.50 points. Key contributors included Nick Hendrix ’20 in 200 meter dash where a time of 22.01 pushed him to first place. Jonathan Fisher ’20 got a time of 56.87 to get first in the 400-meter hurdle. The “A” team, composed of Wagner-Carlberg, Hendrix, Matthew Durst ’21, Conor Banky ’19 and Henry Tatum ’21, captured second in the 4x100 relay. In high jump, Fisher and Francis Price ’22 were able to capture third place and a tie for fourth in this event respectively. Nathaniel Klein ’21, Zack Sieb ’21 and James Caprio ’21 obtained the first three places in shot put. Klein threw 14.65 meters, Sieb threw 13.25 meters, and Caprio threw 12.63 meters. Sieb and Caprio also happened to get the first two places respectively in the discus throw. Minhaj Rahman ’19 participated in the hammer throw and placed first with a throw of 55.75 meters.
Fisher mentioned, “I was happy to get a few good jumps in, and I’m proud of my teammate Tim DeLorenzo for clearing 6’0.75” in his first collegiate outdoor meet. The 400 hurdles are always a difficult event, and I’ve had some trouble getting my feet under me after coming back from abroad. I feel like this race was definitely a step in the right direction and gives me momentum going into next week’s meet.”
During this early part of the season, the Panthers have to make sure to work hard to prepare for the later championship meets.
“As with any year of Midd Track and Field, NESCACs is by far the most anticipated competition of the season, and there is already a lot of hype surrounding the event this year,” Wagner-Carlberg mentioned.
Ray adds, “We always want to win NESCACs, but this year the men are looking to keep their title, while the women’s team wants to come out stronger than ever and beat Tufts and Williams at NESCACs. We’re hosting NESCACs this year at Middlebury, so we’re even more determined to have fun and push ourselves to compete at the highest level.”
With the team continuing to strive towards their goals, they will next compete at the Silfen Invitational on both Friday, April 12 and Saturday April 13.
“A lot of the team did not compete in Amherst, so we’re excited to prepare for the Silfen Invitational at Connecticut College,” said Ray. “It’s looking like a big meet with a lot of good competitors, which will be good preparation in the month before NESCACs.”
Fisher adds, “The Silfen Invitational at Conn College is shaping up to be an intense meet. It will feature many of the top NESCAC teams, who will be looking to get some good times and distances for the bigger meets coming up in 3-4 weeks. It should be a good preview for the NESCAC championship meet at Middlebury on April 27. Hopefully we’ll be able to continue our hot streak and put together more impressive performances.”
(03/14/19 10:00am)
Returning home with the first national championship in men’s indoor track and field in program history and nine athletes across the men’s and women’s teams earning all-American laurels, the Middlebury track and field team finished the season with impressive results at the NCAA Championships in Boston.
When asked about how the Tufts Last Chance Meet prepared the team for the Championships, Abigail Nadler ’19 said, “The Tufts meet was a great opportunity to practice and gain confidence going into Nationals. Both men’s and women’s Distance Medley relays are strong and ready to perform. Personally, I am excited to lay down a fast race alongside my teammates and enjoy the atmosphere as a senior.”
The men were in a tie for 17th place in a total field of 67 teams with 11 points. In the distance medley relay, the men were able to capture first place with an NCAA-winning time of 9:56.54. This team was composed of Nathan Hill ’20, Arden Coleman ’20, Jimmy Martinez ’19 and Jon Perlman ’19. Minhaj Rahman ’19 was also an important contributor for the men as he finished in eighth place in the weight throw event with a farthest throw of 19.08 m.
On his performance, Martinez said, “Winning the DMR was sweet. Watching Jon [Perlman] kick down the home straightaway and celebrate across the line was one of the coolest sights of the entire weekend. The place was packed with our friends and teammates, and it was so loud. The hype was unreal. All the work paid off and I’m so happy to have been a part of this relay.”
The women were in a tie for sixteenth place in a total field of seventy-six teams with 12 points. Rory Kelly ’19 was able to obtain second place in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 9:45.85, earning all-American honors. The women’s DMR team, made up of Nadler, Kelly, Gretchen McGrath ’21 and Cassie Kearney ’22.
Kelly appreciated the support from her teammates over the championship weekend. “Everyone competed with a lot of courage, and the entire team, those competing, those who came down to Boston to support us, and those supporting from Middlebury, really enjoyed celebrating the successes of our team this weekend,” she said.
With the end of the indoor season, the outdoor season is only a few weeks away, with the first meet being the PLNU Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 23.
“I am so psyched for the outdoor season, and especially our training trip to San Diego over spring break,” Kelly said. “We bond a lot as a team on the trip while training but even more so in the time in between while chilling on the beach, hiking, and eating ice cream.”
Martinez said, “I’m excited for outdoors, especially the San Diego meets. I am in good shape now, and plan to get in even better shape out there. I’m also very excited to keep up our tradition of crushing kombucha before our races. I, along with Nathan, plan to try a new flavor every week. We attribute most of our success during indoors to the co-op’s kombucha aisle. Hopefully, it will help us run even faster outdoors.”
(03/07/19 10:58am)
Several members of the track and field team traveled to Medford, Massachusetts on Saturday, Mar. 2nd, where they competed in the non-scoring Tufts Last Chance Meet. The meet was a good opportunity to squeeze in some more qualifiers and to fit in some extra practice against the competition before the NCAA Championships.
On the last chance meet, Nathan Hill ’20 said, “This meet was a great tune up for NCAA’s next weekend. There is always great competition and it is a good opportunity to see where the relay stacks up in relation to the other teams in New England.”
The women had several notable performances. Meg Wilson ’20 placed second in the 800 meter run and clocked in at 2:15.46. For the one mile run, Abigail Nadler ’19 finished with a time of 5:07.36, and earned third place. The Panthers also placed fourth in both the 4x400 relay and the distance medley. The 4x400 relay team, which had a time of 3:55.89, was composed of Julia Munz ’22, Lucy Lang ’19, Ava O’Mara ’21, and Gretchen McGrath ’21. The distance medley team, which had a time of 11:46.23, was composed of Nadler, McGrath, Cassie Kearney ’22, and Rory Kelly ’19.
The men also had their share of strong performances. Will Meyer ’20 participated in the 3000 meter run, where his time of 8:32.74 got him fourth place. The “A” team, which comprised of Nathan Hill, Arden Coleman ‘20, Jimmy Martinez ‘19 and Jon Perlman ‘19, was able to get first in the distance medley with a time of 9:56.58. In the pole vault event, John Natalone ’19 was able to tie for sixth place as he had a vault of 34.40 meters. Minhaj Rahman ’19 was first in the weight throw competition as he threw for 19.35 meters.
Hill also mentioned a new routine that has helped performances. “Everything begins with prep,” said Hill. “The night before, as per Jimmy Martinez’s request, our van stopped on the way to Boston to get Kombucha. It has become a tradition over the last few weeks as we continued to race well after having it. We will definitely be stopping again this weekend to fuel up before NCAAs.”
For the entire the season, the track team has been anticipating the change to make their mark at the NCAA Championships. The championships, which will include the men’s and women’s teams, will occur on Friday, Mar. 8 and Saturday, Mar. 9. at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Martinez, Rahman, Perlman, Coleman and Hill have been chosen to represent the men’s team at the meet, while Kelly, Nadler, Wilson, McGrath, Kearney and Tasha Greene ’21 will anchor the women’s team. If the team keeps up their performances from throughout the season, they will undoubtedly bring home some hardware back to campus.
(02/28/19 10:55am)
The track and field teams put forth a strong performance when they competed in the Division III New England Championships on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. The men got fifth place in a total field of twenty-three teams, while the women got fourth place in a total field of twenty-six teams.
“DIII New England’s was a great start to the postseason for both the women’s and men’s teams,” Rory Kelly ’19 said, when asked about the outcome of the meet. “Some of the team is shifting their focus to the outdoor season with our first meet less than a month away. Others are looking to get in another fast race to either improve their times against some strong competition or to qualify for nationals. While individuals on the team have different goals during this period at the end of indoor and before outdoor, we still remain a very cohesive team and support each other.”
The men’s squad ended their meet with 64 points, with MIT finishing first, Tufts in second, WPI in third, and Southern Maine in fourth. Jimmy Martinez ’19 came in fifth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.50. Jon Perlman ’19 captured first place in the one mile run with a time of 4:10.82. In the 3000 meter run, Will Meyer ’20 got third place with a time of 8:34.36. Harrison Knowlton ’19 secured fourth in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:13.40.
The Panthers also did well in their relays, since the “A” team got first in the 4X400 meter relay with a time of 3:21.94. This team was composed of Martinez, Arden Coleman ’20, William Robertson ’21, and Matthew Durst ’21. In the 4000 meter DMR, the “A” team also captured first with a time of 10:10.99. This team was comprised of Meyer, Coleman, Perlman and Nathan Hill ’20. Other crucial contributors were John Natalone ’19 in the pole vault event, Nathaniel Klein ’21 in the shot put event and Minhaj Rahman ’19 in the weight throw event.
“This being a championship meet, there was very strong competition, so it was incredible to be able to win the mile and DMR,” said Perlman. “Our team put a lot of emphasis on doing well at this meet and I think across the board we performed really well.”
The women’s squad finished with 57 points, and placed fourth overall. Ahead of them were Williams, who came in first, MIT and Tufts. Ava O’Mara ’21 and Lucy Lang ’19 both did well in the 600 meter run, getting fourth and fifth place respectively. O’Mara had a time of 1:37.64, while Lang had a time of 1:38.56. In the 800 meter run, Cassie Kearney ’22 came in second place with a time of 2:13.36. Behind her were Meg Wilson ’20 in fifth place with a time of 2:15.97 and Anna Willig ’20 in seventh place with a time of 2:17.61.
“I felt really great and surprised about my performance in the open 800 race,” said Kearney. “I didn’t do indoor track in high school, so this sport is new to me and I’m not used to running throughout the winter. I thought that how I did this past weekend really showed how my hard training has paid off over the past few months and I definitely realized the potential I have going further into the postseason.”
Katelyn Pease ’22 had a time of 2:59.20 which got her sixth place in the 1000 meter run, while Tasha Greene ’21 had a time of 5:02.24 which got her fifth place in the one mile run. Kelly came in second in the 3000 meter run as she had a time of 9:47.28. It is also important to mention that the “A” team came in third in the DMR with a time of 11:54.82. This team was composed of Kearney, Kelly, Abigail Nadler ’19 and Gretchen McGrath ’21.
On her performance in the 3000 meter run, Kelly said, “I was very excited by my 3k on Saturday. It was a challenging race and it was truly my teammates cheering me on every lap that got me through. They were critical to my successful performance.”
Perlman concluded by saying, “At this point in the season, we just need to make sure we’re feeling rested and ready to compete. We’re still hoping to get a few more qualifiers for NCAAs.”
Next week, on Saturday, March 2, the Panthers will be competing in the Tufts Last Chance Meet in order to get more qualifiers. After that comes the biggest meet of the indoor season, the NCAA Championships.
(02/21/19 10:59am)
The Middlebury Panthers hosted the Middlebury Team Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 16, where they once again displayed their prowess against tough competition.
The women’s squad was able to win first place in a field of five teams, where they had a total of 200 points. In the 600-meter run, the Panthers were able to get the top two spots. Lucy Lang ’19 came in first with a time of 1:38.36, while Ava O’Mara ’21 came in second with a time of 1:38.92.
“This was my first 600m of the season, and I went into the race with the goal of running a good time to place me well at New England DIIIs,” said O’Mara, when asked about her performance. “I think the team performed well as a whole. Our depth as a team in all events is very evident.”
For the 800-meter run, Cassie Kearney ’22 came in first place, Emily Bulczynski ’22 came in second, and Meg Wilson ’20 came in third. Their times were 2:17.97, 2:20.95 and 2:21.20, respectively. Also, the Middlebury “A” team won the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:04.68. This team was comprised of Kearney, Bulczynski, Katelyn Pease ’22, and Nicole Johnson ’22. Kreager Taber ’19 was able to get first in the pole vault event with a vault of 3.35 meters. Other important finishers at the meet were Tasha Greene ’21, Abigail Nadler ’19, Katie Glew ’21, Rory Kelly ’19, Alex Cook ’20, and Helene Rowland ’20.
Rowland has been a consistent top finisher so far in the shot put event. Rowland said, “Especially this season, I’ve been trying to work on being more explosive, which means working on speed and strength. For me, this extends beyond throwing and into my general fitness. This has really improved my mindset when throwing because I feel like I’m preparing myself as best I can. That being said, I have a lot of room to improve on technique!”
The men were able to get first place with a score of 237 points while facing three other teams. In the 60-meter dash, Conor Banky ’19 captured first place with a time of 7.12, while Nick Hendrix ’20 got second with a time of 7.16. In the 200-meter dash, Hendrix won first place with 22.37, while Jimmy Martinez ’19 came in behind him with a time of 22.39. Martinez also won first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.87. Jon Perlman came in first in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.53, while Theo Henderson ’20 came in first place in the one-mile run. Harrison Knowlton ’19 came in first in the 500-meter run.
The Middlebury “C” team was comprised of Michael Wasserstein ’21, Graham Rainsby ’21, Thomas Tarantino ’21, and Nate Evans ’20. They were able to capture first in the 4X400-meter relay. The men also had an impressive outing in the pole vault event, as they captured the top four spots. John Natalone ’19 came in first with a vault of 4.45 meters. Nate Albers ’20, Will Behm ’22, and Robert Cassidy ’19 got second, third, and fourth place, respectively. Other important finishers at the meet included Jack Litowitz ’20, Jonathan Fisher ’20, Dylan Mortimer ’19, Nathaniel Klein ’21, and Minhaj Rahman ’19.
When asked about his performance, Litowitz said, “I was pretty happy with my race yesterday overall. It was a small personal best by about two seconds, and I was able to beat some Amherst runners in the process as well. It was definitely my best performance of the indoor season thus far.”
The team will be competing in the Division III New England Championships on Friday, Feb. 22 and Saturday, Feb. 23. The women will be at Bowdoin, while the men will be at MIT.
“As far as preparation goes for DIIIs, I think the team will focus on ‘quality over quantity,’ bringing down the mileage and resting up more this week while also focusing on getting comfortable at race pace and working on top-end speed,” said Litowitz. “We will also have a few pre-race meetings with both the coaches and the captains to get us pumped up and excited for the weekend. Our captains this year have been especially good at generating a lot of energy across the team, so I would expect a pep talk from them for sure.”
“This next weekend is looking to be really competitive with many talented athletes from around New England,” said Klein. “Our senior captain Minhaj Rahman wrote a new team pump-up speech and cheer, so hopefully we can feed off of that energy and bring the noise this weekend. We’ve been training hard all winter, and this is the weekend to go all out.”
(02/14/19 10:58am)
Members of the Middlebury track and field team have been giving it their all during the past few weeks as they begin to prepare for upcoming championship meets. During the Middlebury Invitational on Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26, both the men and women placed first among the competition. The Panthers then had great performances during the Tufts Cupid Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 2. The most recent meet was the non-scoring Fastrack National Invitational in Staten Island, New York, where the team yet again did its best against top opponents.
Gretchen McGrath ’21 stated, “I think that any time we get a chance to compete at a meet it helps us to get ready in a way that ordinary training doesn’t. Even though the meet was “non-scoring,” we all were going 100 percent during the competition, which we don’t do in practice.... Meets also give us an opportunity to test ourselves and do our best under some pressure that can’t be simulated in practice.”
At the Fastrack National Invitational, there were several standout performances by the men. In separate 400-meter finals, Arden Coleman ’20 was able to achieve eighth place while Jimmy Martinez ’19 got third. Coleman had a time of 50.47 ,and Martinez had a time of 48.69. In the mile finals, Jon Perlman ’19 had a time of 4:13.69 and Will Meyer ’20 had a time of 4:19.31. They got fourth and ninth place, respectively. In a separate mile finals, Theo Henderson ’20 placed eighth with a time of 4:22.36. Minhaj Rahman ’19 also continued his strong season as he placed first in the weight-throw finals with a throw of 18.63 meters.
There were also some equally great performances by the women. In the 400-meter finals, McGrath had a time of 59.83, which got her fourth place, and Lucy Lang ’19 had a time of 1:00.80, which got her ninth place. Katelyn Pease ’22 came in fourth in the 800-meter finals with a time of 2:19.45. In the same race, Emily Bulczynski ’22 had a time of 2:21.45, which allowed her to capture 11th place. The women were also able to get fourth in the 4x400 relay as Lang, McGrath, Julia Munz ’22 and Ava O’Mara ’21 led the way with a time of 4:01.83. In another strong performance, Cady Barns ’22 placed first in the triple-jump finals with a jump of 10.39 meters.
The team’s upcoming meet will be the Middlebury Team Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 16. This meet will be further preparation, as the Division III New England Championships are right around the corner.
McGrath echoed this when she said, “It’s our last opportunity in individual events to improve to the point where we feel confident heading into New Englands the following weekend.... Relays ... give us a chance to synchronize working on handoffs and that kind of stuff. It’ll be a good last meet here at home to get excited before New Englands.”
If the team continues on its current trajectory, it should be able to do very well during the next couple of weeks.
(01/24/19 10:54am)
The Middlebury Winterfell took place this past weekend on Saturday, Jan. 19 on home turf. The team continued its strong start with bold performances from both the men and the women.
“The team’s goal right now is the same as every year, I feel. To get as many people to qualify for championship meets like DIII New Englands, Open New Englands, and Nationals, have everyone healthy to compete hard in outdoor, and keep the morale and spirit of the team at an all-time high,” said Minhaj Rahman ’19.
At the Middlebury Winterfell, the women earned 108 points to get them third place out of a total field of four teams. The University of Vermont took first place with 232 points, and McGill University placed second with 136 points. Ellie Greenberg ’20 secured the first-place spot with a time of 8.39 in the 60-meter dash. In the 200-meter dash, Gretchen McGrath ’21 won second place with her time of 26.73. Lucy Lang ’19 and Emma Hills ’22 participated in the 600-meter run and placed second and fourth, respectively. Lang recorded a time of 1:38.61, while Hills came in at 1:41.68. Helene Rowland ’20, Emma Walsh ’21 and Julia Lothrop ’19 played key roles in Middlebury’s success in the shot put event. Rowland claimed first place with a throw of 11.95 meters, Walsh came in fourth with 8.79 meters, and Lothrop followed close behind, taking fifth with 8.78 meters.
With a home crowd behind them, the Panther men placed second out of the total field of four teams with 166 points. The University of Vermont edged the Panthers with a total of 243 points for the first spot. There were several key contributors in the 600-meter run. Jimmy Martinez ’19 picked up first place with a time of 1:20.86. William Robertson ’21, Arden Coleman ’20 and Josh Howard ’19 trailed Martinez, coming in third, fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 1:24.10, 1:24.61 and 1:25.93.
“I was happy with my performance, given that the 600 is longer than my usual event,” Martinez stated. “It felt good getting a PR, especially this early in the season.”
Jon Perlman ’19 and Max Memeger ’21 both took home first place in their events. Perlman earned his win with a time of 4:16.66 in the one-mile run. Max Memeger ’21 triumphed in the long jump with a jump of 6.16 meters. Rahman placed first in the weight throw with a throw of 18.26 meters, which beat the previous record that he had set just last week.
“I was impressed with everyone who raced, especially some of the distance boys who opened their indoor season this week,” Martinez said.
The team’s next meet will be the Middlebury Invitational, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 and Saturday, Jan. 26. Hopefully the Panthers will continue to build upon their success and thrive with another home-field advantage.
With regard to the team’s preparation for this meet, Perlman said, “It’s still early in the season, so our training will stay pretty intense for the next few weeks.”
Martinez added, “The goal for next week is to keep getting in better shape.… I’m very excited for what this team can do.”
(01/17/19 10:54am)
Last Saturday marked the beginning of the indoor track and field season for the Panthers who had participated in the Middlebury Winter Classic. The day was filled with many notable performances.
“The first meet always helps all of our different event groups to come together as a big team and get back into the swing of competition,” said Lucy Lang ’19. “We are so lucky that we got to have the meet at home with our track alumni.”
The men’s team finished in second place out of a total of five teams. While the Panthers garnered 137.5 points, Plymouth State finished in first with 170 points. One key performer for the men’s squad was Conor Banky ’19, who finished second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.29.
When asked about his performance, Banky said, “It was a good starting point for me. Saturday was my first track meet and I lost by .01. Not the result I wanted, but I am happy to know where I stand and plan to improve throughout the season.”
In the men’s 200-meter dash, the Panthers took five of the first seven spots. Jimmy Martinez ’19 finished in first with a time of 22.27, William Robertson ’21 took third with a time of 23.14, and Arden Coleman ’20 came in fourth with a time of 23.47. The other top finishers were Matthew Durst ’21 in the fifth, and Josh Howard ’19 in seventh. Max Memeger ’21 took first place in the high jump event with a jump of 1.83 meters.
Minhaj Rahman ’19 took first place in the 35 lb. weight throw with a throw of 18.17 meters. This throw also happened to break the current school record, which was set by Rahman just last year. “Truly this is a highlight of my career that I will remember forever,” Rahman said.
With 123.5 points, the women finished in second place behind Plattsburgh State which had a score of 160 points. There were many notable contributors for the team. In the 400-meter dash, Julia Munz ’22 and Lang came in second and third place, respectively. Munz had a time of 1:01.67 and Lang had a time of 1:01.68. Emma Hills ’22 placed first in the 500-meter run with a time of 1:21.32, while Emily Bulczynski ’22 placed first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.21.
The 4x400 relay team was able to get a first place victory with a time of 4:14.97. This team was composed of Lang, Hills, Julia McClain ’22 and Ava O’Mara ’21. In the pole vault event, Kreager Taber ’19 won with a vault of 3.35 meters. In the shot put event, Helene Rowland ’20 was able to place first with a throw of 11.92 meters.
“We are still very early in the season and just came off of the winter break, so I think that our early successes are very promising for the rest of our season,” said Lang.
“Right now a lot of the team is making sure we ease ourselves back into the season to make sure we are setting ourselves up for the rest of J-term properly and not having a shaky foundation,” Rahman said.
The Panthers clearly look to improve as the season progresses in order to become the best team possible. The next meet will be the Middlebury Winterfell on Saturday, Jan. 19.
(11/29/18 10:53am)
As the new year rolls in, the indoor track and field season for both the men’s and women’s teams will commence. Last season, the men and women finished off well in the indoor NCAA Championships. The men were in a tie for twentieth place out of sixty-six teams. Jimmy Martinez ’19 and the distance medley relay team (composed of Nathan Hill ’20, Tyler Farrell ’18, James Mulliken ’18 and Kevin Serrao ’18) also received All-American honors. The women didn’t bring enough competitors to earn a definitive team placement, but outings from Kate McCluskey ’18 in the 400-meter run and the distance medley relay team (composed of Tasha Greene ’21, Meg Wilson ’20, McCluskey and Abigail Nadler ’19) were impressive.
In this new season, both teams will have lost runners, jumpers and throwers who have graduated. For the men, these include Serrao, Farrell, Mulliken and Mike Pallozzi ’18. For the women, these include McCluskey, Kisha Kalra ’18, Devon Player ’18 and Brianna Bisson ’18. These were all consistent performers during their time with the team who all were able to contribute to the Panthers’ strong finishes last year.
Even with these losses, Middlebury still has talent that can lead the team to victory this year. A prime example is Martinez, who excelled in the 200-meter and 400-meter races last year. He also holds the indoor school records for the 200-meter, 400-meter, and 600-meter races (with times of 22:20, 47.81 and 1:21.24 respectively) as well as various Virtue Field House records. Minhaj Rahman ’19 will also provide an important spark for this season. Last season, he consistently won the team points in the weight throw, and broke the school record for the weight throw with a throw of 56’6”.
Talia Ruxin ’20 and Nadler are poised to rise to the occasion as they were both among the key distance runners last season. Kreager Taber ’19 was also a consistent pole vault performer last year and holds a school record for the event with 11’2.25”. This short list of contributors doesn’t even scratch the surface of the immense depth and talent that the team retains.
Even though the indoor track season is relatively short, the teams will face a number of challenges from tough opponents. The teams will also look forward to improving throughout the season in order to do their best at the Division III New England Championships and the NCAA Championships. As of right now, the season officially begins on Sunday, Jan. 6 as both the men and women compete in the Dartmouth Relays.