COMPLETE RESULTS
Brunswick, ME––For the second year in a row, the men's track and field team achieved an upset victory over rival Tufts University to win the 2017 NESCAC Championship, scoring 175 points to Tufts' 164. Bowdoin was 3rd with 110 points.
It was clear from the very start of the day that this meet would be a team effort. In the men's hammer, James Heinl '19 and co-captain Chris Lyons '17 started the day with a bang. Each athlete smashed their previous personal bests, finishing in 4th and 5th with respective marks of 49.99m and 48.66m to take the very early lead over Tufts.
On the track, the trio of Noah Williams '17, Ben Decker '18, and Zachary Dulabon '18 extended the early lead. Williams and Decker led the chase pack for much of the race, finishing in 3rd and 4th with respective personal bests of 31:07.40 and 31:08.12. Dulabon, who came through the 5k mark just 1 second off of his personal best of 15:39, held it together for a fantastic breakthrough performance, running 31:44.22 for 8th overall.
In the next final on the track, Jacob Kahrs '19, Zeke Cohen '19, Kenneth Marshall '20, and William McGovern '20 contested the 3000m steeplechase. Working as a pack in the last third of the race, Kahrs, Cohen, and Marshall fed off of each others' energy to all score points, finishing in 4th, 5th, and 7th, with respective personal bests of 9:32.37, 9:35.85, and 9:37.32. McGovern finished 15th with his own personal best of 9:57.54. Even though an athlete from Tufts won the event, the Ephs increased their margin.
During an interlude of events on the track, the Ephs maintained the pressure on the field. In the high jump, Ian Outhwaite '17 capped his successful return from a career-threatening injury, matching his personal best of 1.98m to finish 2nd. Ian Kagame '19 had a successful day as well, jumping a seasonal best 1.88m to finish 4th. In the pole vault, Pierceson Brown '18 cleared 4.40m, finishing in 3rd place.
In the 4x100, the Ephs competed well despite using a new lineup. The team of Amyhr Barber '19, Jeremy Thaller '19, Tommy Riley '18, and Dysron Marshall '20 finished 6th overall in a fast time of 43.02.
In the 1500, the Ephs solidified their early lead. Co-captain David Folsom '17 set a fast early pace, working with fellow captain Peter Hale '17 to try to break the competition. Hale took over for the second half, and the duo finished 1st and 2nd, in times of 3:50.34 and 3:50.69.
In the long jump, Christian Holway '19 finished 1st, missing his personal best of 6.94m by a centimeter. Just behind him was co-captain Tobias Muellers '18, who finished 2nd with a mark of 6.82m. In 7th, Riley '18 jumped 6.48m. That event gave Williams the commanding lead heading into the middle of the meet.
The lead was not to last, despite continued fantastic Williams performances. In the javelin, Ian Mook threw 51.90m to finish in 6th overall. In the 110 meter hurdles, Riley finished 7th in a personal best 15.48. And in the 400, Muellers, who would contest five separate events on the day, finished 2nd with a personal best time of 48.46. But despite these performances, the Ephs' lead evaporated in the heat of the day, as Tufts clawed their way back with fine performances in the 100, 400, and 400 hurdles.
The Ephs halted Tufts' momentum in the shot put. Magnus Herweyer '20 won the event with a mark of 15.90m. Lyons continued his impressive day, finishing 4th by putting the shot 14.39m. And Liam Pembroke '18 snagged a point by finishing 8th with a mark of 13.56m.
In the 800, co-captain Steven Yannacone '17 beat his seed significantly, finishing 7th in a seasonal best time of 1:54.85. And in the 200, an event where Tufts had been favored on paper, the Ephs managed to cut the deficit, as Muellers finished 7th with a mark of 22.23.
In the discus, Herweyer continued an impressive meet, finishing 2nd with a mark of 45.73m. Herweyer's performance meant the Ephs were up by a single point heading into the last four events: the 5000, triple jump, 4x400, and 4x800.
Hale returned to compete in the 5000, joined by Austin Anderson '19 and Mitch Morris '19. The first two miles were rather slow, before Hale took command, stretching out the field to win his second title of the day, finishing in 14:51.23. Behind him, Anderson ran the race of his life, challenging a national champion in the last lap before ultimately finishing 3rd in 14:54.77.
In the triple jump, Holway shook off a twisted ankle to finish 2nd, jumping 14.28m. Heading into the relays, the Ephs had a 5 point lead over Tufts.
In the 4x400, the relay of Marshall, Kevin LaFleche '20, Yannacone, and Muellers had consummate performances. As a team, the Ephs moved up each exchange, from 5th, to 4rd, to 3nd. Muellers finished his incredible––and exhausting––day with a bang, splitting a 47 to anchor the team to a 2nd place finish, in a time of 3:20.12.
And in the 4x800, the Ephs sealed the deal. The relay of Nick Gannon '20, Lucas Estrada '19, Tristan Colaizzi '20, and Folsom used similar tactics as in the 4x400, continually moving up through the pack. Colaizzi handed the baton off to Folsom with a slight lead, and the senior brought the meet to a close, anchoring the team to victory with a 1:54 split, the team finishing in 7:44.69.
Head Coach Ethan Barron credited his athletes with the hard-fought victory, in particularly lauding the scrappy performances that made the meet. "You look at some of our performers who appeared to have these Herculean efforts, but that takes away from a Dulabon, who thought he'd never run again, or an Ian Outhwaite, who thought he'd never jump again. Every guy who scrapped for one extra place here and there––it added up. I've been to 20 NESCAC championships and I've never seen a NESCAC meet that neck-and-neck, start to finish. We did a great job focusing on our own execution and not worrying about the competition."
The Ephs will return to competition next Friday at the Division III New England Regional, hosted by Williams College.
