COMPLETE RESULTS
Northampton, MA––The Williams Track and Field team traveled to Smith College today to open their season at the Smith Invitational. Many of the team's sprinters and jumpers, who competed on the Ephs' Football and Soccer teams, are still getting their legs back, and did not compete today. They will debut in January at the Little Three Championships. Although no team scores were tallied, the Ephs competed against athletes from several other schools, including NESCAC rivals Amherst and Trinity. In total, Williams had six individual winners.
The season began with the field events, where the Ephs displayed impressive improvement in the throws. Co-Captain Chris Lyons '17 won the weight throw with a personal best mark of 15.76 meters (51' 8.5"), over 2 meters farther than he threw at this meet last year, in a mark that qualified him for Division III New Englands. James Heinl '19 finished in 3rd with a mark of 13.70 meters (44' 11.5").
In the shot put, first-year Magnus Herweyer '20 won with a massive throw of 15.12 meters (49' 7.25"), one that would have scored 2nd at last year's NESCAC Championships. Lyons finished 2nd with a throw of 13.48 meters (44' 2.75"). Both qualified for Division III New Englands.
In the pole vault, returning NESCAC runner-up Pierceson Brown '18 faced little competition, winning with a height of 4.15 meters (13' 7.25"), well over a foot higher than at this meet last year, qualifying for Division III New Englands.
The first running event of the day was the 5000, which featured Noah Williams '17, competing for the first time since NCAA Cross Country Championships, as well as a trio of first-years, Ryan Cox '20, Sam Wischnewsky '20, and Will McGovern '20. Running a smart, patient race, Williams gradually reeled in a competitor who had built an early lead, winning the event in 15:10.10. The three first-years all impressed in their first collegiate track meet. Cox competed well within a pack, finishing 4th in 15:26.47, while Wischnewsky and McGovern worked with each other to run 15:41.77 and 15:42.14 for 5th and 6th respectively. Williams and Cox both qualified for Division III New Englands with their efforts.
In the mile, first-year Jackson Ennis '20 led the Ephs with a time of 4:34.05, finishing 4th in a well-paced run. In the 3k, juniors Griffin Colaizzi '18 and Liam Simpson '18, each like Williams also coming off of NCAA Championships, impressed. They finished with powerful finishing kicks in 1st and 2nd in times of 8:41.17 and 8:41.53 respectively. Behind them, Nigel Bates '17 ran an evenly split 8:53.41. All three ran under the Division III New Englands qualifier.
The Ephs also excelled in the mid-distance events. Senior Co-Captain Steve Yannacone '17, running his first meet since the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finished 2nd in the 800 in a time of 1:58.07, also qualifying for Division III New Englands. In the 600, Eliot Fong '19 finished 6th in 1:26.55. And in the 400, Justin LeAndre '18 and Mack Radin '19––competing for the first time since this meet last year––finished 1st and 2nd in times of 52.94 and 54.44.
Conor Dunham '18 finished 2nd in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.70, easily surpassing the Division III New England qualifying mark.
Head Coach Ethan Barron was pleased with his team's early season meet, saying "of all things I'm pleased with this weekend, it was the energy and focus of the team. That's going to be the foundation that we build from. I saw a hungry, driven team. If we can continue to keep that edge throughout our training and lives then we should cross off a lot of goals this year."
The Ephs will have another five weeks to train before returning to action on January 13, 2017, at the Little Threes Championship, hosted by Wesleyan.
