COMPLETE RESULTS
San Diego, CA––The men's track and field team finished their spring break training trip with an exclamation point at the California Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of San Diego. Mixing it up with Division I and NAIA competition, the Ephs performed well, with many athletes qualifying for championship meets. UC San Diego won the meet with 235.5 points, while Azusa Pacific finished 2nd with 154.5 points. Williams finished 3rd, and best among Division I competition, with 85.5 points.
The meet started with the field events. In the long jump, Tom Riley '18 and Connor Harris '18 led the way for the Ephs. Riley jumped 6.60m for 7th, a significant personal best. Harris jumped 6.53m, good for 8th overall. Both qualified for Division III New Englands. Ian Outhwaite '17 also competed in the long jump for the first time ever, jumping 6.17m for 18th place.
Outhwaite returned later in the day for the triple jump, joined by Christian Holway '19. Holway jumped 13.53m for 7th overall, while Outhwaite jumped 13.07m for 13th overall. Both marks are better than the Division III New England qualifying standard.
In the pole vault, Pierceson Brown '18 showed marked improvement from the week before, clearing 4.60m, finishing in 4th overall. Brown's mark qualifies him for All New Englands.
In the shot put, co-captain Chris Lyons '17 finished 9th with a mark of 14.05m, closely followed by Liam Pembroke '18, who threw 13.41m for 12th. Both men would return for the hammer throw, joined by James Heinl '19 and Magnus Herweyer '20. There, Heinl would lead the way for the Ephs, finishing 10th overall with a mark of 45.50m. Right behind him in the standings was Lyons, who threw 42.67m himself for 11th place. Both men got the NESCAC standard, and Heinl qualified for Division III New Englands. Herweyer returned later in the discus, throwing a new personal best of 46.53 meters, qualifying for All New Englands.
On the track, the first event of the day was the 3000m steeplechase. Zeke Cohen '19 ran a solid race, finishing in 9:49.53 for 4th overall and qualifying for Division III New Englands. First-year Will McGovern '20, competing in his debut steeplechase, ran a smart, measured race, finishing in 10:11.03 for 5th.
Following the steeplechase and the 4x100, in which Williams was unfortunately disqualified, three Ephs, co-captain David Folsom '17, Peter Kirgis '20, and Alex Cowen '18 competed in the 1500. All three ran intelligent races, moving up through the pack as the race progressed. Folsom finished 2nd with a time of 3:55.27, while Kirgis finished 4th in 3:56.35 and Cowen 9th in 3:59.17. All three qualified for Division III New Englands.
In the 400 meter dash, co-captain Tobias Muellers '18 continued his very successful season, running a time of 49.06 for 2nd place, qualifying for All New Englands. Also competing was Justin LeAndre '18, who ran 53.11 for 15th place.
Riley returned for the 110 hurdles, where he ran a fast time of 15.95, finishing 9th and qualifying for Division III New Englands.
In the 800, first-year Kevin LaFleche '20 ran a well-paced race, finishing 4th in the fast heat and 7th overall with a time of 1:57.05. From the third heat, Lucas Estrada '19 ran a brilliant race, making a decisive move with 350 meters to go to win his heat and finish 8th overall, in 1:57.12. Both men qualified for Division III New Englands.
Perhaps the most impressive event of the day for the Ephs was the 5000 meter run. Austin Anderson '19 showed impressive race savvy and fitness, running with the front pack for the entire race before breaking away from the field with 700 meters to go, winning in a time of 14:53.79, a personal best. Right behind him was co-captain Peter Hale '17, who ran a controlled effort, increasing his pace progressively to finish in 2nd place in 14:54.21. Both men qualified for All New Englands with their performances.
In the last track event of the day, the 4x400, a team of LaFleche, Muellers, Cowen, and Estrada all ran well, finishing in a time of 3:26.07 for 5th place.
Head coach Ethan Barron was pleased with his team's performance at the meet and training trip as a whole, saying "It's impossible to highlight any one part of the team above others from this trip. Jumps, throws, multis, sprints, mid D, Distance––everyone posted some impressive PRs and did what was asked of them these past weeks. That's a sign of a balanced, dedicated squad."
When looking to the future, Barron was more cautious, saying "without a doubt, it was a successful Spring Break training trip this year. But 12 days does not make an athlete. We got a great jump on the outdoor season and have already significantly strengthened our team from this indoor season. Now the key is to do what we can to maintain the level of recovery we had over the past two weeks."
The Ephs will next compete on April 8 at the Amherst Invite, hosted by Amherst College.
