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Ephwomen Dominate Cardinal Invitational (2008)

The Williams women had an outstanding day of competition Saturday in the Wesleyan Bacon Field House at the Cardinal Invitational. "Outstanding" might not be the word to use in describing the team's performance - "domination" might be more appropriate to label the four first-place and five second-place finishes.

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Results

Ephmen Fly at Cardinal Invitational (2008)

On Saturday at the Wesleyan University Cardinal Invitational, a selection of Eph runners tried their best to hit qualifying marks for the upcoming Division III Championships, or to improve upon previous season bests and gain strength and experience for future competitions.

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Results

Ephwomen Perform Well at Dartmouth Invite (2008)

Women's Track and Field had a successful day at the Dartmouth Indoor Classic, posting solid performances in many events throughout the day against some tough competition. Senior captain Carrie Plitt had a strong showing in the sprints with a second place finish in the 60 meters and took fourth in the 400. Sophomore Elise Johnson ran her first collegiate race ever in a stunning time of 9.67 in the 60 meter hurdles qualifying for Division III New England's. Junior Veronica Ivey and sophomore Emily Heaslip each ran fast 500 times after being abroad for winter study. In the 800, senior Laura Walls took third followed by teammates Lissy Robie and Heather Bemis, all in the top eight.

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Results

Ephmen Race at Dartmouth Indoor Classic (2008)

The Williams Track & Field team headed north to Hanover, New Hampshire, on Saturday to compete in the 2008 Dartmouth Indoor Classic, which served as a tune up for the larger championship meets in the coming weeks. Though team scoring was not kept at the meet, the men’s team had a strong showing, with solid performances all around.

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Results

Williams Men take 4th at Reebok Games (2008)

The Reebok meet is one of the Ephs' most highly anticipated competitions of the indoor season. Races take place at the legendary Reggie Lewis track facility, which features a speedy banked track. Unlike traditional track layouts, this oval curves up from lane one to compensate for the sharp turns of an indoor 200-meter track. The track construction, combined with the electricity in the air from the excited athletes, usually results in the first of the an athlete's fast times of the indoor season.

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Results

Ephwomen Finish 6th at Reebok Games (2008)

The Williams women’s track & field team headed to Boston on Friday evening to compete in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, hosted by Northeastern University. The Ephs were ready for the opportunity to run fast, paced by top Division I competition and running on a banked track for the first time this season.

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Results

Women's Track and Field Look Solid at Home (2008)

Members of the women's track and field team built on their solid performances at Dartmouth as they hosted their only home meet of the season on Saturday, competing against Union College and St. Rose. The meet was characteristically low-key, giving athletes the opportunity to strengthen their jumping, running, and throwing before the qualifying meets later in the season. Despite the laid-back nature of the event, many athletes posted break-out performances, attaining New England qualifying marks and "surprising" coach Pete Farwell, who had not expected such stellar performances from his athletes so early in the season.

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Results

Ephmen Tracksters Impress at Home (2008)

The only home indoor meet of the season saw the field house packed to capacity as competitors, coaches and fans lined the track throughout the afternoon. Head coach Pete Farwell was pleased with the atmosphere at the home meet, citing the high level of “spirit” among everyone in attendance.

The Eph tracksters didn’t disappoint as they carried home victories left and right. The highlights of the day were the two field house records set by Williams’ own Andrew Arons ’08 in both the 200- and 300-meter dashes. Arons’ times of 35.78 in the 300, and 22.61 in the 200 took down the old records, ones that he had his sights on heading into the meet.

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Results

Ephmen finish 3rd at Dartmouth Relays (2008)

On Sunday, January 13, the men’s indoor track & field team placed third at the 2008 Dartmouth Relays, their first competition as a full squad. The two teams that beat Williams in competition over 18 scored events were host Dartmouth College with 86.33 points, followed by runner-up Northeastern University (67.33 points). Both schools field NCAA Division I track programs, while Williams competes in Division III. The meet showed clearly that Williams can hold its own against foes outside their traditionally small-school division.

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Results

2007

Strong finish allows women to place 9th at NCAA Championships (2007)

OSHKOSH, WI. — The 2007 NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet was a three-day affair. For the Williams College women's team, the meet boiled down to the final three events of the final day.

Bolstered by strong performaces from senior Caroline Doctor, senior Alex Phillips and the 4x400 relay team, the Ephs collected 21 of their 25 team points over the final three events. That fantastic finish allowed Williams to place in the top 10 for the eighth consecutive season, their total giving them a tie for ninth place.

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Results

Dave DeVaughn and Mike Davitian All-American; Ephmen Finish 32nd at NCAAs (2007)

OSHKOSH, WI. — Williams College senior Dave DeVaughan hurled the discus 153' 10" on his second attempt and finished sixth to earn All-America honors. Senior Mike Davitian placed seventh in the finals of the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:56.24, thereby qualifying as an All-American. Seniors Tyler Gray and Stephen Wills each narrowly missed All-America honors with strong performances in the 800-meter run and steeplechase, respectively. Williams finished 32nd with five points.

Results

Ephwomen Win All New Englands For First Time (2007)

HANOVER, NH- With a brilliant victory in the final event of the day, the 4x400 relay, women's track and field captured their first ever All New England Championship at Dartmouth College this weekend. The 4x400 women (Maddy Outman '08, Katie Howard '07, Carrie Plitt '08, and Emily Heaslip '10) knew that they needed to defeat Division I Boston College to take the team victory. They posted their fastest time of the season, 3:51.21, while Boston College took third in 3:52.56. The end result was Williams racking up 108 points for the championship title, while Boston College took second with 103.

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Results

Men Third at All New England Championships (2007)

Men’s track and field competed in the All New England Championships on Friday and Saturday, having one of their best ever overall performances at this meet and achieving a myriad of NCAA qualifying marks. The team placed third behind Rhode Island and Dartmouth with 54 points, finishing as the top Div. III squad by a wide margin.

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Results

Ephmen Win 4th Consecutive New England Div. III Title (2007)

Ralph White's men’s track and field team defended their Div. III New England title this weekend at Springfield College by racking up a total of 137.5 points over the two days of competition. Although they shared last week’s NESCAC title with Tufts, this weekend the Jumbos fell to the runner-up spot with a tally of 91.5, just edging out Springfield’s 89. Familiar faces once again led the way for the Ephmen, with Branden Mirach ’07, Mike Davitian ’07, Chris Ellis-Ferrara ’07, and Andrew Arons ’08 turning in standout performances.

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Results

Ephwomen Win 7th Straight New England Div. III Title (2007)

Ralph White's Williams women's track & field team collected its fifth consecutive New England Division III title in impressive fashion, racking up 166.5 points. MIT was second with 85 points. Four Ephs won two events. Co-captain Caroline Doctor '07 won both the long jump (18' 10.5") and the triple jump (38' 9.75"). Doctor's long jump effort broke her own New England Div. III record. Maddy Outman '08 won the 100 hurdles (14.20) and the 400 hurdles (1:02.99). In the 100 hurdles, Outman just edged an MIT competitor in a tight battle during the finals, breaking Rita Forte's school record while setting a New England Division III record as she clipped .40 off the previous best in the event.

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Results

Ephwomen Win 8 events en route to 7th Straight NESCAC Title (2007)

MIDDLEBURY, VT -- Women's track & field team out pointed second place Middlebury 201 to 147.5 to capture their seventh consecutive NESCAC title this Saturday.

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Results

Ephmen and Tufts Tie for NESCAC Title (2007)

MIDDLEBURY, VT -- In one of the most back and forth NESCAC Championship meets ever, the men’s track and field team preserved their NESCAC title streak on Saturday afternoon at Middlebury. They shared first place with Tufts University, as both teams finished the day with exactly 197.5 points. Bates College placed third with 95 points. It is often said that many sports are ultimately a game of inches, and it is amazing to think about how much a tenth of a second here or a few centimeters there could have tilted the outcome either way.

Story and Results

Ephs Compete Well at Penn Relays

Maddy Outman finishes 4th in Pentathlon

Stephen Wills, Colin Carroll qualify for NCAAs at Penn Relays

Ephwomen 4x400 posts fastest Div. III time at Penn Relays; Asher Provos in 5000

Caroline Doctor Named ECAC Div. III Field Athlete of the Week (2007)

Senior Caroline Doctor (Franklin, TN) has been named the ECAC Div. III Field Athlete of the Week for her role in helping the Eph women win their 22nd consecutive Little Three title.

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Ephwomen Win Little Three Championship (2007)

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The Williams College women's track and field team captured the Little 3 Championship Saturday at its own Plansky Track by outscoring Amherst and Wesleyan respectively, 183 to 116.5 to 74.50.

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Results

Ephmen Claim Little Three Title (2007)

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The men’s track and field team began their championship season on Saturday by hosting Little Threes on a beautiful spring afternoon. The Ephs took the victory over the Cardinals and Lord Jeffs by a margin of 172.5 to 109 to 86.5. The unique scoring format for this meet awards points only to the first two finishers from each school. All three teams had strong performances on the day, and got themselves in good shape for the next month of championship meets.

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Results

Ephs Compete Well at Williams Relays (2007)

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The track and field team hosted the Williams Relays on Saturday, their first of two home meets this outdoor season. Due to poor weather earlier in the week several teams declined to participate, but the Ephs still faced stiff competition from Westfield State. Most of the events were set up relay-style, and a large number of Ephs did not run their primary event, but there were still some outstanding performances on the day.

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Results

Ephwomen Take 2nd in Windy Conditions (2007)

SPRINGFIELD,MA- Women's track and field was second to host Springfield College at today's 5-Way Meet. The Ephs were resting several of their top athletes, who chose to train through the weekend.

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Results

Ephmen Have Strong Outing at Springfield (2007)

The men’s track and field team headed to Springfield, MA on Saturday morning to compete against the host Springfield College, NESCAC foe Middlebury, and Westfield State College. In the quad-meet scoring format the Ephs placed second to the host squad, but they posted several outstanding performances for the cold and windy conditions. The Eph long distance squad had a particularly strong meet, especially with a standout performance from Brendan Christian ’09 in the 10,000 meter run.

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Results

Ephwomen 2nd at Point Loma Meet (2007)

SAN DIEGO, CA- Women's track & field team won five events and finished second to host Point Loma Nazarene University at the PLNU Invitational on Saturday. Point Loma tallied 406.5 points, while the Ephs scored 386.

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Results

Ephmen Win Four Events and Capture Point Loma Meet (2007)

SAN DIEGO, CA -- The Williams men's track & field team had four individual winners en route to winning the Point Loma spring break meet. The Ephs scored 425 points and Azuza Pacific finished second with 354.

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Results

Ephs Kick Off Spring Break at Easter Relays

The men's and women's track and field teams competed today in the Easter Relays, hosted by Santa Barbara City College on the tracks where the Ephs have been training this week. In most years the opening weekend of spring break is a meet for athletes to run multiple events as well as experiment with different ones, but this year several runners posted strong times and personal bests in their prime events.

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Results

Ephs Capture Div. III National Championship

Williams College captured its first national championship in indoor or outdoor track and field Saturday, earning 25 second-day points to finish with a total of 42. Runner-up City College of New York finished with 35. The Ephs were second at the national meet in 2005-2006. This was their sixth top-four finish in the last seven years.

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Results

Ephmen Finish 14th at Nationals

TERRE HAUTE, IND — The Williams College men's indoor track and field team placed in a tie for 14th at the 2007 NCAA Div. III Indoor Track & Field Championships which concluded Saturday at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with 13 points.

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Results

White, Doctor honored by U.S. Track & Field Coaches Association

The United States Track & Field Coaches Association announced its regional winners of several awards Tuesday and Williams head coach Ralph White and senior jumper Caroline Doctor were among the honorees.

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Women 4th at ECACs

MIDDLETOWN, CT- Women's track and field sent only a few athletes down to the ECAC Championships hosted by Wesleyan University this weekend, but the team took fourth at the meet in spite of their small numbers. Some Ephs were using the meet as a tune-up for nationals next weekend, while others were hoping to achieve better qualifying marks and times for nationals, and yet others simply used the opportunity to squeeze in one last competition before taking a week off of training and then building up for the outdoor season.

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Results

Ephmen compete at ECAC Championships

A small group of athletes from the men’s track and field team competed in the ECAC Championships on Friday and Saturday. The meet was hosted by Little Three rival Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. The Ephs sent a very small crew of athletes looking to get in a tune-up in preparation for next weekend’s NCAA Championships and also try to grab a few remaining qualifying marks. The men finished 16th overall in the team standings with a total of 17 points, compiled by only four athletes.

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Results

Ephwomen 4th at All New Englands: Two School Records Fall

BOSTON, MA- Women's track and field held their own against Division I, II, and III competition to amass 51 points for fourth place at the All New England Championships, held at Boston University this Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, the Ephs broke both the 4x400 m relay and 4x800 m relay school records.

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Results

Ephmen 10th at Div. I New Englands

The men's track and field team finished tenth overall with a strong second day at the Div. I New England Championships, hosted by Boston University. This meet marks the beginning of the post-season, after the bulk of the squad has already begun training for the outdoor season, the remaining members are focused on running, jumping, or throwing personal bests or securing NCAA qualifying marks. In addition, for the first time this season the Ephmen will compete in trials and finals for events below the mile run, preparing them for the heats of the NCAA meet. Overall the men had a great weekend, posting multiple NCAA marks and also setting a school record.

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Results

Doctor & Outman Claim ECAC Honors for Third Time This Season

Senior Caroline Doctor (Franklin, TN) and junior Maddy Outman (Boulder, CO) each claimed ECAC Division III Track & Field honors for the third time this season as Doctor was named the Co-Field Athlete of the Week with Wheaton's Jennifer Harlow and Outman shared Track Athlete of the Week honors with Kaitlin O'Sullivan (Oneonta State).

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Branden Mirach Named ECAC Field Athlete of the Week

Senior Branden Mirach (Elmont, NY) had a huge double gold performance at the Division III New England Championships held at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, capturing both the long and triple jumps. For his efforts in leading the Ephs to the New England title Mirach was named the ECAC Division III Field Athlete of the Week. This is the second time this season Mirach has won ECAC honors.

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Ephmen Claim 4th Consecutive New England Title

LEWISTON, Maine – Williams College put on a dominating performance Saturday at the New England Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at Bates College. The Ephs won the annual meet for the fourth consecutive time and the 14th time in the event’s 28-year history, topping runner-up Tufts University by 49 points, 152-103. Williams finished first in nine of the 21 events, paced by Branden Mirach’s victories in both the long jump and triple jump.

Results

Ephwomen claim 5th straight New England Title

GORHAM, ME -- Williams junior Maddy Outman won two events and senior Caroline Doctor won two events and set two Eph records to lead Williams to their fifth consecutive New England Indoor Track & Field title at Southern Maine University.

Results

Women Achieve Fast Times at BU and MIT

BOSTON,MA- Women's track and field split their squad this weekend, sending some athletes to Boston University's highly competitive Valentine Invitational, while others competed at the MIT Coed Invitational.

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BU Results, MIT Results

Men Compete at BU, MIT

The weekend before their biggest meet of the indoor season the men’s track and field team headed to Boston University, MIT, and Cornell to pick up their last few qualifying marks and get in a solid tune-up effort. The three meets served their purpose, and in addition provided some fireworks as the Eph middle distance stars begin to round into form. Macklin Chaffee ’09, Chris Beeler ’08, and Mike Davitian ’07 turned in the top performances of the Valentine Invitational at BU, while Stephen Wills ’07 posted the best mark at MIT. Davitian also teamed up with Bill Ference ’08, Alex Hoerman ’09, and Tyler Gray ’07 to provisionally qualify for NCAA’s in the Distance Medley Relay. On Saturday David DeVaughn '07 and Andrew DeSalvo '08 both posted strong marks in their specialties, the weight throw and shot put respectively.

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BU Results, MIT Results

Ephwomen Crush Competition at Tufts Stampede

MEDFORD,MA- Women's track and field accumulated 210 points to soundly defeat second place UMass-Lowell (111 points) and third place Tufts (106.5 points) at the Tufts Stampede today.

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Results

Ephmen Win Tufts Stampede

The men's track & field team traveled to Medford, MA on Saturday to compete in the Tufts Stampede Invitational. The Ephs delivered a string of solid performances, with many qualifying for the upcoming Division III New England Championships, en route to a convincing meet victory. Williams tallied 144 points in the 14-team field, and were trailed by Div. II Stonehill with 96.5 and host Tufts scoring 90 for third place.

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Results

Ephwomen Crush Competition at Tufts Stampede

MEDFORD,MA- Women's track and field accumulated 210 points to soundly defeat second place UMass-Lowell (111 points) and third place Tufts (106.5 points) at the Tufts Stampede today.

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Results

Ephmen Win Tufts Stampede

The men's track & field team traveled to Medford, MA on Saturday to compete in the Tufts Stampede Invitational. The Ephs delivered a string of solid performances, with many qualifying for the upcoming Division III New England Championships, en route to a convincing meet victory. Williams tallied 144 points in the 14-team field, and were trailed by Div. II Stonehill with 96.5 and host Tufts scoring 90 for third place.

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Results

Maddie Outman ECAC Div. III Co-Track Athlete of the Week

Williams junior Maddie Outman (Boulder, CO) turned in three stellar performances at three different distances this past weekend at the Boston Indoor Games held at The Reggie Lewis Center at Northeastern University.

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Ephwomen 5th at Boston Indoor Games

"You performed well last week, and I expect that you will perform even better this Friday," said Coach Ralph White at Thursday's track and field team meeting. His prediction proved correct, as the Williams women competed very impressively to come in 5th place against solid Division I, II, and III competition at the Boston Indoor Games this Friday.

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Results

Ephmen Place 7th at Boston Indoor Games

The men's track and field team competed in the collegiate division of the Boston Indoor Games on Friday. The meet represents their first test of the season in a major invitational setting, with many athletes looking to qualify for the Div. III New England Championships as well as get a benchmark for how their training has progressed during January. Overall the squad performed well, placing seventh in a field of mostly Div. I and II schools.

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Results

2006

Women Dominate At Lowell

April 15, 2006

Women’s track and field captured numerous event titles and new qualifying marks at the George Davis Invitational held at UMass-Lowell yesterday. With temperatures in the seventies, the warmer weather allowed for especially big improvements in the jumps and throws. Undoubtedly, the day’s top performance came from Kristin Moss ’06, who jumped an incredible 19’0” in the long jump to shatter the school record and move her to second place on the Division III NCAA performance list.

Moss also claimed second in the high jump, leaping 5’4”. Katie Stack ’08 had an excellent performance in the javelin, throwing 32.47 meters for second place. The discus throw was dominated by Ephs, with Alex Phillips ’07 (136’6”), Abelee Esparza ’07 (125’11”), and co-captain Katie Krause ’06 (119’2”) taking the top three spots. Esparza went on to take the hammer throw title with her 148’4” toss, just shy of the provisional mark for NCAA’s. In the shot put, Phillips and Krause took second and third with throws of 41’5.25” and 40’7.5”. Caroline Doctor ’07 was third in the triple jump with a leap of 37’.75”.

Laura Ellison, 1500mIn the sprints, co-captain Katie Fulton ’06 looked to be in top form, taking home both the 100 meter and 200 meter titles with her times of 12.37 and 25.28 seconds. Fulton also anchored the Ephs’ second place 4x100 meter relay team, working hard in the final meters to edge past Tufts’ anchor runner. Maddie Outman ’08, Moss, and Lindsay Millert ’09 also ran legs of the 4x100 relay. Katie Howard ’07 ran very well in the 400 meters, beating her seed time to take first place in a time of 58.05 seconds. In the 800 meter run, Veronica Ivey ’08 posted a new personal record of 2:17.36 to take second place, while Heather Bemis ’09 was fifth in a time of 2:21. The 4x400 meter team of Bemis, Ivey, Carrie Plitt ’08, and Fulton ran 4:01.11 for second place, just one second behind Tufts’ team. In the 400 meter hurdles, Robin Kuntz ’09 ran a half-second personal record of 69.44 seconds to earn seventh place.

Leading the distance runner contingent was Mallory Harlin ’08, who ran an excellent 3000 meters in 10:02 for second place, only a second off of her personal best. Tufts’ Catherine Beck caught Harlin in just the final 100 meters before the finish. In the 1500 meter run, Rachel Asher ’09 posted yet another personal record of 4:48.38 for second place. Teammate Laura Ellison ’07 also raced well, running 4:58.87 to qualify for Division III New Englands. Liz Gleason ’08, who is coming off of a minor injury after earning All-American honors in the Indoor 5000 meters, took second in the same event at Lowell. Gleason is very excited to be training and racing again and will most certainly continue to improve throughout the season.

Next week the Ephs will take on rivals Amherst and Wesleyan at the annual Little Three Championships, held at Wesleyan this year. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9540

Ephmen Compete at George Davis Invitational

April 15, 2006

The men’s track and field team traveled to UMass-Lowell on Saturday to compete in the George Davis Invitational, a competitive meet where some hoped to post solid marks and others simply wanted to get in a good workout. The meet was not scored by team, but the Ephmen managed to capture four event titles and several runner-up finishes. The field events shined most brightly, with Branden Mirach ’07 posting a huge personal best in the long jump and Dave DeVaughn ’07 taking home the discus title. In addition, Dan Austin ’06 traveled to California to compete in the Mt. San Antonio College Invitational, throwing the discus with some of the top athletes in the country.

The day started off on the track with the 3000-meter steeplechase, where the Ephs were led by Grant Burgess’08 fourth place finish. Burgess’ smooth hurdling form, especially over the water jumps, produced a new personal best time of 9:59 that he will look to drop even further in the coming weeks. Another Eph hurdler, Jamie Kingsbury ’06, placed third in the 400-meter intermediate barrier event, clocking a strong 59.02.

Chris Beeler, Tyler Gray in the 800mSeveral members of the Eph distance and mid-distance squads chose to take the weekend off from competition, but those who traveled to Lowell came ready to compete hard. Chris Beeler ’08, Tyler Gray ’07, and Bill Ference ’07 swept the top three places in the 800-meter run in that order, with Beeler taking the top spot in 1:55.9 and the others following right behind. In the 1500, Macklin Chaffee ’09 led the way for the Ephs, finishing sixth overall in 4:04.

For the sprinters, Andrew Arons ’08 paced the group with his second place finish in the 200-meter dash, stopping the clock at 22.67 seconds. He also came back to place seventh in the open 400-meter dash, and run a leg on the victorious 4x400-meter relay squad. George Rodriguez ’06, also a member of the winning relay team, had earlier placed sixth in the open 400-meter dash.

Andrew DeSalvo ’08 kicked off the day for the Eph throwers, placing sixth in the javelin with a throw of 47.16 meters, and coming back later on to claim second in the shot put with a toss of 46’ 8”.

The Eph discus throwers, however, delivered the top performances of the afternoon, despite competing on opposite sides of the country. DeVaughn captured the event title at UMass-Lowell, posting a strong mark of 150’ 7”, while Austin placed sixth against an international field in California with a launch of 194’ 11”. The mark improves on his previous DIII-leading performance and places him almost five meters ahead of his next competitor.

The biggest personal best of the day, however, came from Mirach in his long jump victory. The junior, who has previously never qualified for the NCAA championships, launched himself to third place on the DIII performance list with a leap of 23’ 7”. The jump increases his personal best by a whole foot, a huge breakthrough for already one of the top jumpers in New England. In addition to this mark, he also placed second in the triple jump.

Although not everyone had their best afternoon on the track, the Ephmen got in another solid competition and picked up several outstanding performances along the way. Championship season will commence next weekend with the Little Three meet, hosted by Wesleyan University, where the Ephmen will look to defend their title.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9541

Williams Relays Results

April 8, 2006

Women’s track and field endured temperatures in the twenties and windy weather during their only outdoor home meet, the Williams Relays, yesterday. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the team pulled through with many good performances across the event groups. This success was due in part to the impressive turnout of supportive alumnae and family, who brought their great spirit to the track. Many alumnae even tied on their spikes to contest some events at the meet.

Leading the strong field team contingent was Caroline Doctor ’07, who won both the long and triple jump events. Doctor leapt 17’1.5” in the long jump and 36’.75” in the triple jump, saying afterward “I guess it was pretty good for the cold weather.” Teammate Kristin Moss ’06 took second in the triple jump, while alumna Joyia Chadwick ’05 (last year’s NCAA Heptathlon Champion) took third place in the long jump. Moss also jumped to second in the high jump with her very solid mark of 5’4”. In the discus throw, Williams athletes swept all but one of the top six spots, with alumna Anna Swisher ’05 coming out on top. Finishing less than a foot behind Swisher was Anna Morrison ’07 with her 139’1” throw. Alex Phillips ’07, Abelee Esparza ’07, and co-captain Katie Krause ’06 took the third, fifth, and sixth spots, respectively.

Alex Phillips, Shot PutSchool record-holder and NCAA shot put champion Healy Thompson ’03 returned to take victory in the shot put, while Krause took second with her 39’2.25” toss. Phillips finished fourth, and multi-eventer Lindsay Millert ’09 took sixth. In the hammer throw, Esparza took second with her 141’5” toss, while Phillips was third. Katie Stack ’08 was seventh in the javelin throw, but is hoping for warmer weather and an even better performance next weekend.

In the sprints, co-captain Katie Fulton ’06 claimed victory in the 100 meter dash in a time of 12.55 seconds. Carrie Plitt ’08 took first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.03, but she considered her time “slow,” partly due to the cold weather. The sprinters also won three relays: the 4x100 meter, 4x200 meter, and sprint medley. Plitt, Millert, Veronica Ivey ’08, and Fulton teamed up for the 4x100 win, while Katie Howard ’07, Plitt, Ivey, and Fulton contributed to the 4x200 meter victory. Running the legs of the sprint medley relay were Fulton, Plitt, Heather Bemis ’09, and Howard. In the open 400 meters, Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 took the sixth spot in 63.67. Robin Kuntz ’09 was sixth in the 400 meter hurdles in a time of 70.15 seconds.Liz Bacon, Steeplechase

Many of Williams’ distance runners were placed in the 4x1600 meter and 4x800 meter relays as a welcome respite from their regular open events. The 4x1600 team of Lissy Robie ’08, Mary Feeley ’09, Julie McNamara ’09, and co-captain Caroline Cretti ’06 beat Middlebury by eight seconds for first place in 21:46, while Williams’ B and C teams took third and fifth. In the 4x800, however, Middlebury took the top spot, while Williams’ three teams swept second through fourth.

Cretti paced Mallory Harlin ’08 in the 5000 meters, and they finished second and third in respective times of 17:23 and 17:27. “It was really nice being able to run with Caroline for most of the race,” said Harlin afterward. In the 1500 meters, Rachel Asher ’09 took fourth in a competitive field with her time of 4:52. Not too far behind were Ryan Jane Jacoby ’09, Heather Bemis ’09, and Katie Howard ’07 who took the seventh through ninth spots. In the open 800 meters, Veronica Ivey ’08 ran 2:19.88 for second place. Braving the cold water for her debut in the steeplechase, Liz Bacon ’09 ran well to take sixth place in the event. “It [the steeplechase] was definitely painful, but I liked it enough to run it again,” said Bacon after her race.

Next week the Ephs will head to UMass Lowell for the Lowell Invitational, before traveling to Wesleyan for the Little Three Championships the following week. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9515

Williams Relays Results

April 8, 2006

The men’s track and field team hosted fourteen teams on Saturday for the Williams Relays, their only home meet of the year. With more schools participating than in previous years, the men enjoyed a long day of competition on a cold and windy April afternoon. Although the meet was not scored by team, and the weather put a damper on some individual performances, the Ephmen still opened up their New England season with solid efforts all around.

The day began on the track with an attempt to capture the school record in the 4xMile relay, with a four-man squad of Bill Ference ’07, Macklin Chaffee ’09, Sean Hyland ’07, and Mike Davitian ’07. Ference quickly learned how tough it would be to run through the blustery conditions all alone as he attacked the first leg of the relay. The trend continued for the first three legs as the Ephs charged out hard on record pace but then fell off on the last few laps of their respective four-lap legs. Davitian provided a strong anchor leg of 4:19, bringing home the event victory in 17:54 but short of the record. The Ephmen also fielded two other teams that finished fourth and fifth in the relay.

Branden Mirach, Long JumpThe field events also kicked off at 11 AM, with the men’s long jump first on the runway. Branden Mirach ’07 captured the title for the Ephs with a leap of 22’ 1.5”, outdistancing all other competitors by nearly half a meter. Mirach also took home the triple jump title with a mark of 44’ 4”, while David Kessel ’08 placed third in the event with a mark of 40’ 1.25”.

In the throwing sector, Dan Austin ’06 took home first place in the shot with a put of 51’ 4.5” while Andrew DeSalvo ’08 placed third overall with his put of 45’ 5.25”. DeSalvo also placed ninth in the javelin throw.

Andy Stevenson, Brendan ChristianNext on the track was the 4x200 meter relay, comprised of Andrew Arons ’08, Drew Raab ’06, Deividas Seferis ’09, and John Symanski ’06. The squad took home the victory in a time of 1:19. The quick sprint relay was followed by the 5000-meter run, where the Ephs decided to revise their goals and follow a fairly conservative pace in light of the windy conditions. Andy Stevenson ’07 and Brendan Christian ’09 sat in the lead pack for the first mile, hung on for the second, and finished strong to place second and fourth overall in times of 15:34 and 15:42, respectively.

Soon afterwards came another sprint relay, the 4x100, and another event title for the Ephmen. With jumper Mirach replacing Raab on the squad, and all three other members remaining the same, the Ephs sped to a 42.23 clocking to distance the rest of the field. Raab and Seferis also placed second and third in the open 200-meter dash.

The next three events were the 1500-meter run, the 400-meter dash, and the 100-meter dash. First year Ben Swimm placed fifth in the longer event, while his classmate Stew Buck did the same in the one-lapper. Symanski and Arons came back from the earlier relay efforts to take the titles in the 400 and 100, with Arons capturing the shorter event. George Rodriguez ’06 placed third in the 800-meter run.

Another Eph that had a breakthrough performance was Matt Desir ’08 in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. A relative newcomer to the barriers, he clocked a 57.92 to place fifth overall in the grueling event.

In the final field event of the day Austin took home the discus throw title, with Dave DeVaughn ’07 placing sixth. Markus Burns ’06 grabbed another event victory for the Ephmen in the high jump, clearing 6’ 4” for first place.

The day concluded with another relay record attempt, this time the 4x800. Again with difficult conditions, and running alone the entire way, the squad of Tyler Gray ’07, Chris Beeler ’08, Davitian, and Ference clocked a solid 7:49, just one second shy of the all-time outdoor mark.

Next weekend the Ephmen will travel to UMass-Lowell for what should be a competitive invitational meet, and are beginning to gear up for the last few weeks of the season where they will defend their NESCAC and Div. III New England titles. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9516

Ephs Win 11 Individual and Two Relays at Point Loma Nazarene

April 1, 2006

Caroline Cretti, 1500mSAN DIEGO, CA – The Williams men's and women' track and field teams closed out their Spring Break trip competing in an 8-team event hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University.

In the men's competition the Ephs came out on top amassing 418 points. Brendan Mirach won both the long (21' 6") and triple jump (45' 7.25"), Andrew Arons won the 100m (11.0), Brendan Christian won the 10,000m (32:33) and Dan Austin won the discus (193' 4"). The Ephs also took first in the 4 X 100 relay, but no names were listed.

In the women's competition the Ephs placed fourth with 322 points as Azuza Pacific University won with 377 points. Caroline Doctor won both the long (17' 9.25") and triple jump (37' 5.75"), Caroline Cretti took the 1,500m (4:41.32), Katie Fulton won the 200m (24.85) and Lauren Philbrook captured the 10,000m in 40:36. The Eph 4 X 100 relay team took top honors as well, but no names were listed.

The Ephs will next see action next Saturday at 11:00 a.m. when they host the Williams Relays in their only home appearance of the spring season.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9493

Ephs Win a Combined 14 Events at Point Loma Invitational

March 25, 2006

Lissy Robie, 1500mSAN DIEGO, CA – Competing in the 18-team 2006 Point Loma Invitational against teams from NCAA Div, 1, 2 and 3 and NAIA schools Ralph White’s Williams men’s and women’s track teams were able to come away with 11 individual first place finishes and three relay titles. The Eph men won six individual events and the women won five, while the women won two relays and the men won one. The event was non-scoring.

Caroline Doctor won two events for the women and Dan Austin was victorious twice for the men. Doctor won the long jump with a leap of 5.52 m (18’ 1.5”) and took first in the triple jump with a 11.38m (37’ 4”) effort. Austin won the shot put 15.96m (52’ 4.5”) and the discus 56.91m (186’ 8”).

The highlight of the day for the Ephs though was Caroline Cretti setting a meet record in the 5,000m when she finished in a time of 17:07.37. Lissy Robie crossed the line first in the 1,500m with a time of 4:38.73 and Katie Krause took top honors in the shot put with a toss of 12.68m (41’ 7.25”). Both the 4X100 (48.85) and the 4X400 (3:56.10) Eph relays were victorious as well, but the names were not listed on the results.

Mike Davitian posted a time of 3:57.08 to capture the 1,500 and Neal Holschulte was the winner of the 5,000m in 14:40. The Ephs won both the long and triple jumps with Brandon Mirach claiming the long jump (6.74m = 22’ 1.5”) and David Kessel topping the field in the triple (12.73m = 41’ 9.25”). The Eph 4X100 relay came in first with a time of 42.09, but names were not listed.

The Ephs will compete at Point Loma again next Saturday before returning to campus on April 2nd.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9461

Ephs 2nd of Seven at Occidental College

March 19, 2006

Dan Austin, Shot PutLOS ANGELES, CA – Ralph White’s Williams men’s and women’s track teams opened their outdoor track seasons exactly one week after competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships and both teams finished second in a field of seven at the Ben Culley Homecoming Meet at Occidental College.

White held out many of his top performers this weekend give them rest and to give the younger Ephs a chance to compete.

The Ephs finished second to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) in both meets. CMS out pointed the Eph women 131 to 96.5 and out scored the Eph men 189 to 103.

In the men’s meet senior captain Dan Austin won two events and the Ephs captured six individual events and one relay title on the day. Five of the seven Eph wins came in field events.

Austin took the shot put with a toss of 15.25m and he won the discus with a heave of 54.39m. Austin is the defending NCAA Div. 3 champion and record holder in the discus. Brandon Mirach took first in the triple jump with a14.22m effort. Joe Song came out on top in the long jump (6.60m) and senior Markus Burns won the high jump (1.93m).

Junior Sean Hyland was the lone Eph to claim an individual title on the track winning the 3,000 in 8:55.77. The Eph 4 X 100 relay of Andrew Arons, Alex Hoerner, John Symanski and Brandon Mirach won in a time of 42.56.

Next up for the Ephs is the Point Loma Invitational in San Diego on Saturday.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9435

Men Finish 20th at NCAA's

March 11, 2006

The men's track and field team collected nine points total over two days of competition at the 2006 Div. III NCAA Indoor Championships to finish tied for 20th. Several Ephmen earned their first ever All-American certificate, and the weekend ended with eight athletes in total earning this distinction.

Dan Austin '06 kicked off Saturday's action in the shot put, however the 8th place finisher in the weight throw failed to make it out of his flight. The senior had a best throw of 51' 1.5".

In the 800-meter run final Tyler Gray '07 and Chris Beeler '08 both earned their first AA certificates, finishing in seventh and eighth place respectively.

Next on the track was Neal Holtschulte '06, holder of one of the top times in the 5000-meter run. Unfortunately, the 2005 Div. III NCAA Cross Country champion has been battling sickness for the past few weeks. Despite his limited training, the senior still managed to earn yet another AA certificate, finishing 8th in a time of 14:48.

The men's distance medley relay squad of Bill Ference '07, George Rodriguez '06, Chris Beeler '08, and Mike Davitian '07 finished in seventh place in a tight finish. Ference and Davitian both earned their first AA certificates, and the squad clocked a total time of 10:14.07.

As usual, the 1600-meter relay wrapped up the competition, with the squad of Deividas Seferis '09, Tyler Gray '07, John Symanski '06, and Alex Hoerman '09 placing seventh overall in a time of 3:20.55. The two first years earned the first of what will hopefully be many AA certificates.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9417

Gray & White Collect New England Honors

March 10, 2006

Ephs' Tyler Gray and Ralph White Garner USTFCCC New England Honors

It's sometimes said that the world is black and white, but at Williams it is more Gray and White. The U.S. Track & Field Cross-Country Coaches (USTFCCC) have named Williams junior middle distance standout Tyler Gray (Bedford, MA) the New England Div. 3 Indoor Male Track Athlete of the Year. Gray won the 600-meter run at the New England Division 3 Championships and clocked 1:52.79 in the 800, making him the fourth seed at this weekend’s indoor NCAA championships.

Williams head coach Ralph White was named the Men's New England Region coach of the year for leading his Ephs to a third consecutive New England Championship.

Ten of White's athletes qualified for the NCAA Division 3 championship meet this weekend at St. Olaf College (MN), where the Ephs will be shooting for a top-10 finish.

White Also Named Women's New England Coach of the Year

The USTFCCC also named White the Women's New England Region Coach of the Year for leading the Ephs to a fourth consecutive New England Div. 3 title and a third place finish at the New England Div. 1 championships.

13 of White's Eph women qualified for the NCAA Div. 3 championships this weekend at St. Olaf College (MN), however one will not compete due to injury. The Ephs are gunning for a top five finish.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9405

Ephs 2nd at NCAAs; Cretti Takes First National Title

March 11, 2006

Women's track and field performed brilliantly to capture the second place trophy at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships held at St. Olaf College in Minnesota this weekend. The Ephs were third in 2003 and fourth in 2005; this is the highest team placing in recent memory.

Leading the way was co-captain Caroline Cretti '06, who won this evening's 5000 meter run by over ten seconds and broke her own school record for the event with a time of 16:44. An 8-time All-American, Cretti was second in last year's race and third in 2003; this is her first national title. Teammates Liz Gleason '08 and Mallory Harlin '08 also pulled out big performances in the 5000 meters. Gleason ran a personal best of 17:09 to beat top-seeded Ellen Davis of Wesleyan and take third place points, while Harlin ran a solid 17:15 for sixth place.

Kristin Moss '06 leaped to third place with a mark of 5'6.5" in the High Jump, her best-ever placing at nationals. Moss was eighth in the event in 2003 and seventh in 2004. Caroline Doctor '07 brought home yet another All-American certificate in the Triple Jump with her fifth place mark of 37'9.5". Doctor was sixth in the same event at last year's NCAA meet. Co-captain Katie Krause competed in the Shot Put, throwing 42'2" for 12th place.

Lissy Robie '08 contested the 800 meter finals today, coming away with seventh place and All-American honors for her 2:16.34. Robie wrapped up her first nationals experience with a solid 1200 leg in the Distance Medley Relay. Co-captain Katie Fulton '06 took the baton for the 400 meter leg, Katie Howard '07 (who just missed the open 800 finals in yesterday's preliminary heats) ran the 800 meter leg, and Cretti, coming back on only a 15 minute rest after her win in the 5000, ran the anchoring 1600 meter leg. The Distance Medley Relay took fifth place in 12:01, an impressive feat considering that all four legs competed in multiple events at the meet.

Last but not least, the top-ranked 4x400 meter relay of Howard, Veronica Ivey '08, Carrie Plitt '08, and Heather Bemis '09 ran with the knowledge that the team was a mere 6 points behind Wisconsin Oshkosh, who was also in the event. However, Oshkosh ran a very solid relay to capture fifth, edging out the Eph relay's sixth-placed time of 3:55. Now the Ephs will celebrate their second place finish and numerous All-American honors while taking some recovery time before easing back into what promises to be a big outdoor track season. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9416

Men Compete at Trinity Last Chance Meet

March 4, 2006

Friday afteroon a small group of Eph track and field athletes traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to compete in the Trinity Last Chance Meet at Yale University. Although most of the competitors had already secured their trip to NCAA's, Head Coach Ralph White wanted them to get in a solid workout in preparation for next weekend's championships.

Field competitors Markus Burns '06 and Branden Mirach '07 sought qualifying marks in the high jump and triple jump, respectively. Although both came up just short, Burns tied for first place with a mark of 6' 5.5" and Mirach claimed second in the triple with a leap of 45' 7.5". Dan Austin '06, already qualified in the weight throw, threw the shot put this weekend to try and improve his provisional mark in that event. He threw 52' 2" for first place in the event, coming up short of his previous season's best of 52' 11".

Already a member of the school record distance medley relay squad, Chris Beeler '08 attempted to improve on his NCAA provisional mark in the 800 meter run. He finished second overall in the event and set a new indoor best of 1:53.4 seconds to bump himself up a few spots on the list.

The rest of the crew that traveled to Yale was most of White's school record setting 1600 meter relay squad, consisting of John Symanski '06, Alex Hoerman '09, Deividas Seferis '09, and George Rodriguez '06. Symanski competed in the open 400 meter and 300 meter dashes, taking first overall in the longer event with a 49.22 clocking. He finished third in the shorter event, just behind Seferis and Rodriguez. Only Seferis competed in the 55 meter dash, taking sixth place with a 6.63 mark, while Rodriguez placed second in the open 400 with a time of 50.19 seconds.

Next week a large group of Eph athletes will head to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota for the Div. III NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. With times near the top of the qualifying lists in both relays and several open events, the Ephmen will aim high, seeking NCAA titles and a possible team trophy.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9382

Plitt and Howard Post NCAA-qualifying Times at Yale

March 5, 2006

A small contingent of women's track and field traveled to Yale this weekend for the Trinity Last Chance Meet. The meet served largely as a sharpening workout for some of the runners set to compete at nationals next weekend and as a last opportunity for some athletes to post national-qualifying marks.

Sprinters Carrie Plitt '08 and Katie Howard '07 both broke Howard's school record of 58.2 seconds in the 400 meter dash en route to taking the first and third places in the event. Plitt's time of 57.64 moves her to 13th in the nation, while Howard's 58.00 stands 17th.

Another school record was destroyed by two Eph runners in the 300 meter dash, where co-captain Katie Fulton '06 ran 40.76 seconds for second place, while Howard ran 40.98 to take third. The previous record, also held by Fulton, was 41.95 seconds.

This week, the Ephs will travel to the Division III NCAA Championships at St.Olaf in Northfield, Minnesota. Events will take place Friday 3/10 and Saturday 3/11. The women will be serious contenders for a high team placing at nationals, as they have the top-ranked distance medley relay and 4x400 relay teams in the country, along with potential All-Americans in a whole host of events, including the 55, 400, 800, and 5000 meter races, the high and triple jumps, and the shot put. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9387

Men Run NCAA Leading Relays at New England Championships

February 26, 2006

One week after successfully claiming their third straight Div. III New England title, the men’s track and field team traveled to Boston University this past weekend for the Open New England Championships. The meet featured competition from Div. I, II, and III schools, and the University of Connecticut took home the overall title with 161.5 points. The Ephmen finished seventh with 31 points, despite sending a very limited squad, and were the top Div. III finisher at the meet. Taking advantage of stiff competition and a speedy track, the men stamped themselves as a force to be reckoned with at NCAA’s in two weeks, netting several school records and automatic qualifying marks.

“I think the baton should get performer of the week for this meet”, said Mike Davitian ’07. “Everyone who touched it seemed to run a great race.” Indeed the men’s distance medley relay kicked off the excitement on Friday evening, passing the stick around through legs of 1200, 400, 800, and 1600 meters. Bill Ference ’07 led things off in fine form, clicking off a 3:04 leg before handing off to George Rodriguez ’06. The senior split a mid-48 second quarter before launching Chris Beeler ’08 on a 1:53 half mile effort. Davitian anchored the relay himself, splitting 4:09 for his mile leg, breaking the tape in 9:56 for a five-second school record, New England title, and the number one ranked time in the nation right now.

Earlier in the day Brooks Udelsman ’09 had contested the 1000-meter run in outstanding fashion, setting a three second personal best with his 2:32 clocking, and narrowly missing out on Saturday’s final. Tyler Gray ’07 advanced to the final of the 800-meter run with a 1:55 mark, before taking third place in the event on Saturday afternoon. His new personal best of 1:52.29 seconds just missed the school record and places him even higher on the NCAA list.

A small crew of field event athletes competed on Friday and Saturday, not quite reaching the high standard they had set for themselves last week and earlier in the season. Joe Song ’08 leaped to tenth place with a mark of 21’ 7.5” in the long jump, while Branden Mirach ’07 competed in the triple jump, also placing tenth overall. Dan Austin ’06 threw only the shot put on the meet’s second day, with a best mark of 48’ 9” also good enough for tenth in that event.

The lone long-distance representative on Saturday morning, Andy Stevenson ’07 set a personal best in the 3000-meter run with his 8:50 clocking for 15th place overall. Next on the track in the early afternoon, Davitian doubled back in the open mile run, completing the 8-lap circuit in 4:11 to claim third place in New England.

The sprinters then took over, with the men’s 1600-meter relay set to close out the meet. The squad consisted of Deividas Seferis ’09, Rodriguez, John Symanski ’06, and Alex Hoerman ’09, all doubling back from events earlier in the day and on Friday. Seferis had competed in the 55 and 200-meter dashes, Rodriguez the 500 and DMR, and Symanski and Hoerman the open 400-meter run. All of these events set the stage for a thrilling conclusion.

“Lithium” led off for the Ephmen, charging out near the lead and getting excellent position on the first lap. He handed off at right about 48 seconds, and Rodriguez bolted ahead, attempting to hang in there and get the stick around near the lead. Another clean pass to Symanski ensued, and the senior captain showed strength in the latter stages of his leg with a 48.xx split as well. Hoerman took the baton right near the lead, and it was clear that the race would come down to the Ephs and UMass-Lowell. Hoerman’s outstanding final leg stopped the clock at 3:14.05, good enough for second place in New England, a two-second school record, and the number one time in Div. III right now.

The baton truly held the magic for the Ephmen at the New England Championships, coming through with a pair of school records and NCAA-leading times. In two weeks the largest contingent of Ephmen in a long time will head to Minnesota for the Div. III NCAA Indoor Championships, a squad that has definite potential for several titles and a team trophy. Head Coach Ralph White was certainly pleased with his team’s performance this weekend, and will look for even more to come from this squad during the last competition of the season.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9351

Division III New England Champions

February 19, 2006

MEDFORD, MA — Four-time defending champions women’s track and field reclaimed their title at the Division III New England Indoor Track Championships held at Tufts on Saturday. Although their total of 154 points soundly defeated Tufts’ total of 122, the women were projected to win by an even larger margin. As a result, there was an overall air of dissatisfaction with team’s performance after the meet, despite several very good individual performances. Quoting President Kennedy, Head Coach Ralph White asked in a team meeting last Thursday: “Why be second, when first is possible?” The insatiable desire to always strive for more should lead the Ephs to even bigger breakthroughs in the coming weeks.

Stand-out performances from the sprint group included a win in the 55 meter dash by Katie Fulton ’06 (captain) in a blistering time of 7.21 seconds, a provisional mark that moves her to sixth in the nation in the race to qualify for nationals. Carrie Plitt ’08 finished just behind Fulton to earn her first NCAA provisional mark of the season while taking second place in 7.28 seconds. The Fulton-Plitt duo returned to take first and second again in the 200 meter dash, Fulton running 25.99 while Plitt clocked a 26.10. Veronica Ivey ’08 ran a season’s best of 59.99 to take fourth in the 400 meter dash. While the 4x400 meter relay team could not replicate the blazing 3:56 they ran last weekend, they still netted second place points, placing just behind Tufts in 4:01.65.

In the mid-distance contests, the Ephs had several top contenders who were able to score points. Katie Howard ’07 shaved nearly two seconds off of last weekend’s time with her third place finish in the 800 meters, improving her provisional NCAA-qualifying time to 2:15.94. Heather Bemis ’09 ran a season’s best of 1:38.45 in the 600 meters to take third. During the 1 Mile run, Caroline Cretti ’06 looked poised to take the victory until the very end of the race, when a Tufts runner edged past her just before the line. Cretti’s time of 5:01 improves upon a provisional NCAA-qualifying time set earlier in the season. Teammate Lissy Robie ’08 set a new personal record of 5:04 in the Mile to provisionally qualify for NCAA’s as well, while placing fifth in the race. A tired-out Robie later returned in the 1000 meter run take tenth in 3:06, helping to pull teammate Julie McNamara ’09 to a season’s best of 3:07 and 11th place.

The Ephs elected to save many of their faster distance runners’ legs for later meets by running no one in the 5000 meters, while a group of first-years including Rachel Asher ’09, Lauren Philbrook ’09, and Beth Links ’09 competed in the 3000 meter run. Asher set a 25-second season’s best and took ninth place in 10:29, while Philbrook finished 9 seconds later for tenth place. The Distance Medley Relay team of Cretti (1200), Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 (400), Laura Ellison ’07 (800), and Liz Gleason ’08 (1600) nearly won, but Gleason was caught by a Wesleyan runner just before the line.

The field team got off to a great start on Friday with the performances of Maddie Outman ’08 in the pentathlon. Outman racked up a total of 3043 points to achieve a second place finish in the event. Lindsay Millert ’09 also competed well to take sixth in the pentathlon. Outman continued her success by placing second in the 55 meter hurdles, tying her personal best of 8.64, while Kristin Moss ’06 took third and Millert was fifth. Moss also took second in the long jump with a leap of 17’5.5.” In the triple jump, Caroline Doctor ’07 and Moss took first and third with their respective jumps of 37’9.25” and 36’3.5.” Abelee Esparza ’07 had a breakout performance in the weight throw, joining teammate Alex Phillips ’07 on the list of those provisionally qualified for nationals. Esparza’s toss of 49’6.5” placed third at the meet. In the shot put, Katie Krause ’06 (captain) continued her season’s consistency by throwing 41’9.25” for second place.

Next week the Ephs will travel back to Boston University for the All New England Championships, giving them the opportunity to face some solid Division I and II competition as they continue to prepare for nationals. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9322

Division III New England Champions

February 19, 2006

MEDFORD, MA — Four-time defending champions women’s track and field reclaimed their title at the Division III New England Indoor Track Championships held at Tufts on Saturday. Although their total of 154 points soundly defeated Tufts’ total of 122, the women were projected to win by an even larger margin. As a result, there was an overall air of dissatisfaction with team’s performance after the meet, despite several very good individual performances. Quoting President Kennedy, Head Coach Ralph White asked in a team meeting last Thursday: “Why be second, when first is possible?” The insatiable desire to always strive for more should lead the Ephs to even bigger breakthroughs in the coming weeks.

Stand-out performances from the sprint group included a win in the 55 meter dash by Katie Fulton ’06 (captain) in a blistering time of 7.21 seconds, a provisional mark that moves her to sixth in the nation in the race to qualify for nationals. Carrie Plitt ’08 finished just behind Fulton to earn her first NCAA provisional mark of the season while taking second place in 7.28 seconds. The Fulton-Plitt duo returned to take first and second again in the 200 meter dash, Fulton running 25.99 while Plitt clocked a 26.10. Veronica Ivey ’08 ran a season’s best of 59.99 to take fourth in the 400 meter dash. While the 4x400 meter relay team could not replicate the blazing 3:56 they ran last weekend, they still netted second place points, placing just behind Tufts in 4:01.65.

In the mid-distance contests, the Ephs had several top contenders who were able to score points. Katie Howard ’07 shaved nearly two seconds off of last weekend’s time with her third place finish in the 800 meters, improving her provisional NCAA-qualifying time to 2:15.94. Heather Bemis ’09 ran a season’s best of 1:38.45 in the 600 meters to take third. During the 1 Mile run, Caroline Cretti ’06 looked poised to take the victory until the very end of the race, when a Tufts runner edged past her just before the line. Cretti’s time of 5:01 improves upon a provisional NCAA-qualifying time set earlier in the season. Teammate Lissy Robie ’08 set a new personal record of 5:04 in the Mile to provisionally qualify for NCAA’s as well, while placing fifth in the race. A tired-out Robie later returned in the 1000 meter run take tenth in 3:06, helping to pull teammate Julie McNamara ’09 to a season’s best of 3:07 and 11th place.

The Ephs elected to save many of their faster distance runners’ legs for later meets by running no one in the 5000 meters, while a group of first-years including Rachel Asher ’09, Lauren Philbrook ’09, and Beth Links ’09 competed in the 3000 meter run. Asher set a 25-second season’s best and took ninth place in 10:29, while Philbrook finished 9 seconds later for tenth place. The Distance Medley Relay team of Cretti (1200), Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 (400), Laura Ellison ’07 (800), and Liz Gleason ’08 (1600) nearly won, but Gleason was caught by a Wesleyan runner just before the line.

The field team got off to a great start on Friday with the performances of Maddie Outman ’08 in the pentathlon. Outman racked up a total of 3043 points to achieve a second place finish in the event. Lindsay Millert ’09 also competed well to take sixth in the pentathlon. Outman continued her success by placing second in the 55 meter hurdles, tying her personal best of 8.64, while Kristin Moss ’06 took third and Millert was fifth. Moss also took second in the long jump with a leap of 17’5.5.” In the triple jump, Caroline Doctor ’07 and Moss took first and third with their respective jumps of 37’9.25” and 36’3.5.” Abelee Esparza ’07 had a breakout performance in the weight throw, joining teammate Alex Phillips ’07 on the list of those provisionally qualified for nationals. Esparza’s toss of 49’6.5” placed third at the meet. In the shot put, Katie Krause ’06 (captain) continued her season’s consistency by throwing 41’9.25” for second place.

Next week the Ephs will travel back to Boston University for the All New England Championships, giving them the opportunity to face some solid Division I and II competition as they continue to prepare for nationals. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9322

Williams wins Div. III New England's

February 18, 2006

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Going into Saturday’s Div. III New England Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Ephmen had a different role to play than the last two years: the favorite. Head Coach Ralph White feared that his squad might fall victim to a complacent attitude, and urged them to not be content with their position. Instead of overcoming a deficit on paper, capturing their third straight title would require maintaining a slim lead over a determined Tufts squad and host MIT. With solid performances across the board, they did just that, securing the championship with a total of 153 points to Tufts’ runner-up 131 and Bates’ distant third place total of 62.5.

Joe Song ’08 kicked off the action in Friday’s pentathlon, placing third with a 3060 point total in his first full competition, exceeding his seed and getting the Ephs some momentum going into Saturday. However, Tufts collected second, fourth, and sixth places to bring a ten point lead into the main day of competition.

In the morning the sprinters got through all of their qualifying heats successfully, with John Symanski ’06, Andrew Arons ’08, and Deividas Seferis ’09 advancing to the finals of the 55-meter dash. Symanski and Seferis also qualified for the finals of the 200-meter dash. The field events also got underway, as Dan Austin ’06 challenged former NCAA Champion Uzoma Orji of MIT in the weight throw and Branden Mirach ’07 took on Tufts’ star Fred Jones in the long jump. Both collected solid points in their first events of the day, Austin claiming second and Mirach fourth. Song also doubled back from his long day on Friday to pick up vital points with a sixth place in the long jump.

The Ephs still felt a little uneasy about their position, however, as Tufts maintained their lead and had yet to show off their outstanding distance runners. This year the spark that lit a fire under the Ephmen came from Mike Davitian ’07 in the mile run, the first track final of the day. Not always comfortable in the pack, Davitian shot straight to the front to avoid trouble in a large field, set a quick pace, and kicked home for a decisive victory in 4:15.

“Mike ran a tactically brilliant race”, Sean Hyland ’07 said. “He was never further back than second the whole race and when it came time to kick he was right on the leader’s shoulder.”

The Ephmen built on this momentum throughout the rest of the afternoon, winning multiple sprint and mid-distance titles to go along with solid scoring in the field events and relays. Mirach had a third place finish in the triple jump, cracking the 46-foot barrier, and Austin placed third in the shot put. Andrew DeSalvo ’08 also stepped up in the shot put with a toss of 47’ 8.75” for sixth place. Markus Burns ’06 placed fourth in the high jump with a leap of 6’ 5”.

In the 600-meter run, Tyler Gray ’07 ran from the front for an impressive 1.5 second victory in 1:21.4, while George Rodriguez ’06 placed fifth in the same event. Chris Beeler ’08 captured second place points in the 800-meter run, while Bill Ference ’07 did the same in the 1000, both knowing they would be counted on later to provide important relay legs.

The lone distance highlight of the afternoon for the Ephs, Neal Holtschulte ’06 kicked to a three-second victory in the 3000-meter run over a solid field in a time of 8:37. After the last individual event on the track, the Ephmen had built a substantial lead of ten points going into the relays.

An unusual distance medley relay in which Tufts got disqualified for violating the uniform rule meant that the Ephs had all but wrapped up the title. The 1600-meter relay squad sealed the deal with their victory in 3:22.6.

Although the Ephs claimed their third straight championship, next year’s defense will prove quite challenging with the loss of so many big point scorers. However, there will no doubt be a strong group of athletes ready to step up and fill those roles.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9317

 

 

Ephs Sharpen Up at BU Valentine Classic

February 12, 2006

The men’s track and field team had another successful weekend in their preparations for next week’s Div. III New England Championships, competing in Boston at the BU Valentine Invitational and the MIT Coed Invitational. Several athletes posted huge personal bests, others NCAA qualifying marks, and one foursome set an unlikely school record in the 1600-meter relay. The results, as Head Coach Ralph White said, “Show that we are peaking at just the right time.”

The Ephmen knew they would be in for a long day at BU when they looked at the heat sheets, with hundreds of athletes hoping to take advantage of the notoriously fast track. An efficient starting system, however, with one heat going off almost immediately after the previous one ended, ensured that everyone would have a chance to race.

The Saturday kicked off for several Eph distance runners just after 10 AM, with Neal Holtschulte ’06 posting an automatic NCAA qualifying time in the 5000-meter run. His 14:31 ranks in the top-five in the country right now, with several other Div. III runners also clocking fast times at the Valentine Invite. Corey Levin ’08 qualified for New Englands with his 15:31 mark in a later heat.

As the last distance heats wrapped up the morning activity, the Eph middle distance runners and sprinters took center stage. Still sharpening up his speed, Bill Ference ’07 ran a New England qualifying mark in the mile of 4:22, and came back a few hours later with an impressive 2:32 1000. A key member of this event group, Ference’s ability to run multiple events in one meet will prove especially vital to Eph chances next weekend. Sean Hyland ’07 and Brooks Udelsman ’09 also qualified themselves for New Englands in the 1000-meter run with times of 2:33 and 2:35, respectively.

John Symanski ’06, Alex Hoerman ’09, and Deividas Seferis ’09 all took to the oval next, competing in their respective individual events. The first two contested the 400-meter run, sprinting to fast marks of 49.53 and 50.11 respectively. Seferis ran the one lap event, posting another fast time of 22.39. Their days were not done, however, as all three would return later for the 1600-meter relay.

In the field events, Dan Austin ’06 continued an excellent string of throws in the shot put, launching a 51’ 4.5” toss, while Andrew DeSalvo ’08 and David DeVaughn ’07 also turned in strong performances. The Ephmen will count on these three, led by Austin, to bring home their usual solid point total next weekend. The major highlight on the field came from Branden Mirach’s ’07 big leap in the long jump, covering 22’ 7” in all. His bound set a new personal best, almost reached the NCAA provisional qualifying standard, and placed sixth overall in a competitive field.

The biggest fireworks of the day, however, came in the 800-meter run. Tyler Gray ’07 had a breakthrough performance that most runners only dream about, smashing his previous personal best by several seconds with a 1:52.93 four-lapper. Chris Beeler ’08 also won his heat in 1:53.65, while miler Mike Davitian ’07 got knocked around a bit in his 1:55 effort, and George Rodriguez ’06 led wire-to-wire in his 1:57. Gray and Beeler both provisionally qualified themselves for NCAA’s. White had a lot to say about his half-milers: “I was very pleased with Tyler’s five second PR, as he sped up on every lap, and I think Chris could have gone even faster if he had made some smarter decisions in his race. With the return of Bill to the lineup, it’s going to be difficult deciding who will run what leg on the DMR (distance medley relay).”

White will also now face a tough decision about his 1600-meter relay squad, with several previous members returning from injury and new ones stepping up. Saturday’s squad of Seferis, Symanski, Gray, and Hoerman posted a new school record of 3:16.15, and in addition placed themselves at number two on the NCAA performance lists with their provisional mark. All four ran strong legs, with first years Seferis and Hoerman providing a smart opening leg and a solid anchor.

With all of the outstanding sprint and middle distance performances from the Ephmen this week, and the contesting of the 400, 600, 800, 1000, 4x400, 4x800, and DMR at New Englands, it seems that next weekend will play right to Eph strengths. However, Tufts and host MIT will come ready to challenge as always, and probably with renewed vigor now that the Ephs occupy the position of favorite.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9285

Many New Qualifiers and PR's Set at BU

February 11, 2006

Women’s track and field traveled to Boston University to face off against tough Division I competition in the Valentine Invitational on Friday. By the time their bus returned to campus, after 1 AM Saturday morning, the women were exhausted but could rest contentedly after many exemplary efforts at the meet. Many obtained or improved their qualifying times and marks for the coming championship meets, while many others achieved personal records or season’s bests.

Distance runners Liz Gleason ’08 and Mallory Harlin ’08 started off the meet with a bang, taking advantage of BU’s “fast track” to run personal records in the 3000 meters. Gleason clocked a 9:55, fast enough to beat several runners in the championship heat and take an impressive 13th overall. Harlin set a 12 second personal record with her 10:07 for 28th place. In a later heat, Lauren Philbrook ’09 and Beth Links ’09 both ran to personal bests of 10:36 and 10:54, respectively. Next up was Caroline Cretti ’06 (captain) in the championship heat of the 5000 meters. Cretti ran a season’s best of 16:54 for 6th place (she was already auto-qualified for NCAA’s).

In the 1 Mile, Rachel Asher ’09 looked very strong, running a personal best of 5:14.67. Asher later doubled back in the 1000 meters to run 3:07. Both times are qualifiers for next week’s Division III New Englands. “I started off the 1000 feeling like it was an 800, then I got tired and it started to feel more like mile pace,” said Asher, who was running the event for the first time. Ryan Jane Jacoby ’09 also competed in the mile, running a season’s best of 5:27.92.

Lissy Robie ’08 blew away the rest of her heat in the 800 meters to run a personal record that improves her provisional NCAA-qualifying time to 2:16.28. Robie began pulling away from the pack with 300 meters remaining, looking relaxed and confident during her blazing kick. Sprinter Katie Howard ’07 ran her first 800 meters of the season and pulled off a provisional qualifier for NCAA’s of 2:17.85. Heather Bemis ’09 ran 2:18.65, a personal best in the open 800 meters. Still, Bemis felt dissatisfied: “We went out so slow. I need to be more aggressive off of the line so that I don’t get pushed to the back. I felt like I still had more left in me at the end, which isn’t good.”

The drama of the evening occurred during the heat of the 800 meters in which Laura Ellison ’07 and Mary Feeley ’09 competed. Ellison was looking quite strong, leading the pack and kicking hard with 150 meters remaining when a fellow racer stepped on her heel, bringing her flat on her face in the infield. She scrambled to her feet after the pack had passed and bravely finished the heartbreaking race with a scraped-up shoulder. “It really freaked me out when Laura fell, because she was right there with me and all of a sudden she went down and disappeared,” said Feeley, who, nonetheless, finished up strong for an indoor personal record of 2:24.43. Ellison, as always, kept a great attitude and was still smiling after the race, an example of great sportsmanship. Also of note, Robin Kuntz ’09 ran a personal record of 2:24.28, and Andrea Burke ’06 ran a season’s best of 2:26.23 to qualify for Division III New England’s.

In the 200 meter dash, Katie Fulton ’06 (captain) and Carrie Plitt ’08 each won their heats in respective times of 25.64 and 25.75 seconds. Maddie Outman ’08 ran a personal record of 26.68 in the 200 meters after winning her heat of the 55 meter hurdles in 8.64 seconds. Veronica Ivey ’08 ran a season’s best of 60.49 in the 400 meters, while Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 ran a personal record of 61.96 seconds. The team of Howard, Plitt, Bemis, and Outman ran an outstanding 4x400 meter relay in 3:56.6, snatching second in their heat and 11th overall. This is a very strong provisional time for NCAA’s, moving Williams’ 4x400 team to second in the nation currently. Bemis split a remarkable 58.4, explaining afterwards that “I was still mad about my 800, and Coach told us that we could redeem ourselves in the relay.” Although Outman was feeling fatigued after her other events, she finished her anchoring leg strong enough to still take second in the heat.

The field team had many great performances as well. Alex Phillips ’07 achieved another personal record in the weight throw this week, significantly improving her provisional mark for NCAA’s to 50’11” while taking ninth place at the meet. In the shot put, Katie Krause ’06 (captain) also improved her provisional NCAA mark and took fifth place (out of 55 participants) with her throw of 43’5.25.” Kristin Moss ’06 provisionally qualified for NCAA’s and earned 10th place in the high jump with her mark of 5’4.25” Moss also long-jumped to 18th place with her leap of 16’4.25.”

Next, the Ephwomen look forward to defending their title at the Division III New England Championships to be held at Tufts University next Friday and Saturday. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9272

Ephs Have Another Strong Weekend

February 5, 2006

A small group of track athletes made the trip on Friday to run in one of the largest and most prestigious indoor meets in the country, the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Hosted by the New York City Armory, the meet featured competition from many elite Div. I schools, including Texas, LSU, and Villanova. In the evening a four man squad contested the distance medley relay, consisting of an opening 1200-meter leg (6 laps of the 200m track), a 400, an 800, and finally a 1600 meter run. Tyler Gray ’07 led off for the Ephs with a solid leg, handing the baton off in 3:07. John Symanski ’06 then whipped around the track twice in about 50 seconds, bringing the stick to Chris Beeler ’08 a few seconds shy of four minutes. Beeler showed off his long, powerful stride with a 1:54/5 split, and Mike Davitian ’07 brought it home with a 4:13 final leg, for a 10:06 total time and runner-up in their heat. The time provisionally qualified them for the NCAA meet, although the foursome hopes to run faster in the coming weeks, with the potential to take a shot at the long-standing school record of 10:01.

While Beeler and Gray returned to Williams on Friday evening, Davitian and Symanski stuck around to run in individual events the next day. The former attacked his specialty, the mile run, winning his heat by almost three seconds with a 4:12.99 clocking, also a strong provisional NCAA qualifier. Symanski, along with Deividas “Lithium” Seferis ’09, competed in the open 200-meter dash. Both put in solid efforts, with the former clocking 22.70 and the latter 22.65 for the one lap race.

Along with the few Armory competitors, the Ephs sent a full squad to Smith College for the 2006 Tartan Invitational, and ended up taking home the overall first place team trophy as well as several individual event honors. The Ephmen totaled 164 points to Bryant’s 152.5 and Coast Guard’s 120.

Top individual performances came from all event groups, with one of the most remarkable of the day coming from Alex Hoerman ’09. Hoerman ran away with the 400-meter dash in impressive fashion, clocking a 51.19 to capture the title by over one second. The 1600 meter relay squad also finished second, as did Drew Raab ’06 in the 600-meter dash.

In the jumps, Marcus Burns ’06 took his usual first place, although he was not quite satisfied with his 6’ 4” height and hopes to go higher in subsequent weeks. Branden Mirach ’07 also collected big points for the Ephs, who will count on him to do the same at New Englands in two weeks. He claimed second place in the long jump with a leap of 21’ 10” and first in the triple jump with a big mark of 45’ 6.25”.

Dan Austin ’06 led the way for the Ephs in the throws, backed up by solid performances from Andrew DeSalvo ’08 and David DeVaughn ’07. Austin upped his season’s best mark in the shot put to 52’ 11” in claiming that title, while DeSalvo did the same with his put of 46’ 11.75”, good enough for third place. The outdoor NCAA discus champion also threw the weight further than any other competitor with a launch of 61’ 41.75”. DeVaughn placed second in the event with a mark of 48’ 6”.

The middle distance and distance crews continued to pick up their New England qualifying times, bolstered by the return of six men who spent their January biking and running across Arizona and California. Mid-distance standout Bill Ference ’07 seemed a little rusty in his mile, but he claimed second place in the 1000-meter run with a 2:36 mark, and should be sharpened up just in time for another big New England Championships. First-year Macklin Chaffee continued his strong indoor season with a 2:37 1000 for third place. In the 3000-meter run, the Eph distance runners packed up and ran another smart race, with several collecting personal bests and New England qualifiers. Andy Stevenson ’07 led the way with his third place 8:56.4, while Thomas Brennan ’06 and Tim Durham ’09 followed close behind in fourth and fifth.

All in all the Ephmen had another successful weekend, building towards their New England title defense in two weeks at MIT. The competition will no doubt be fierce as always. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9234

Cretti, Howard Win Events en Route to 5th at Boston Indoor Games

January 28, 2006

Despite competing with only part of their squad, women’s track and field came away with fifth place at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, held yesterday at Northeastern University. Their 81 points placed first among Division III teams, behind only Northeastern, Boston College, Southern Connecticut, and University of Southern Florida. The Ephs were granted wins by Katie Howard ’07 in the 500 meter dash and Caroline Cretti ’06 in the 3000 meter run.

Cretti won the 3000 meters in 9:56.84, and Liz Gleason ’08 took third while setting a 13-second personal record with her 10:03.57. Lauren Philbrook ’09 ran to ninth place in 10:47.62 and Beth Links ’09 ran 10:56.7, a 10-second personal record and Division III New England qualifying time. In the 800 meter run, Lissy Robie ’08 raced to second place with her 2:17.88, a provisional qualifying time for nationals. Laura Ellison ’07 qualified for Division III New Englands with her 2:26.35 in the 800 meters. Heather Bemis ’09 ran a very fast time of 3:00.02 in the 1000 meter run and took fourth place. Although there is no 1000 meter event at nationals, Bemis’ time easily qualifies her for all of the other championship meets. Mary Feely ’09 improved her personal record by over 5 seconds in the 1000 meters, running 3:08.02, and Ally Holmes ’07 joined the list of Eph distance runners qualified for Division III New Englands with her 3:13.66. In the Mile, Julie McNamara ’09 and Sarah Hill ’09 ran excellent times of 5:22.64 and 5:25.71, taking the seventh and eighth places and qualifying for Division III New Englands.

Although not many Eph sprinters competed at this meet, they were well-represented by Katie Howard ’07, who won the 500 meter dash in 1:16.3. Also notable was the comeback of Veronica Ivey ’08, who ran an impressive 60.96 seconds in the 400 meters for eighth place. Ivey had been sidelined with an Achilles injury but now looks to be back in top form. The women also ran to an impressive second place in the 4x 400 meter relay, edging out Southern Connecticut in a time of 4:00.02. The distance medley relay, anchored by Cretti, also achieved a second place finish.

The field team also scored many points. Caroline Doctor ’07 leaped 37’8.5” to place second in the triple jump, while Kristin Moss ’06 grabbed sixth place with her mark of 36’3.” Moss and Doctor traded places in the long jump, with Moss jumping 17’7.5” for fourth place and Doctor coming in 10th with her leap of 16’8.75.” In the weight throw, Alex Phillips ’07 took fourth place with her toss of 45’9.25,” and Katie Krause ’06 achieved eighth place with her 43’05.75” throw. Krause was also the top Eph competitor in the shot put, throwing 41’2.25” for ninth place.

Next week, a handful of Williams’ fastest athletes will compete at the New York Metropolitan Championships, held at the Armory, while the rest will travel to Smith College for the Smith Tartan Invitational.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9203

Williams Track and Field to raise $100k for Spring Break 2007 in Italy

Coach White and his team of dedicated athletes are scrambling to raise $100,000 for a spring break trip to Italy in 2007.  The large sum is necessary to take the entire team.  White considers the inclusiveness of his program a hallmark of Williams Track and Field, and wouldn't consider the trip otherwise.  While other programs might take similar spring trips to Europe, few attempt to bring an entire squad of over 100 athletes.

The NESCAC (New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference) allows international trips every four years.  In the past, Williams Track and Field hasn't taken it's spring break trips outside the US because it is prohibitively expensive, however other Williams sports teams have taken international trips.  For example, Women's soccer has been to Brazil, Men's hockey to France.  In fact, Italy was chosen as the tentative location because the Men's Soccer team went there recently, and strongly recommended their tour organizer.  According to Suzanne Geer, '07, "it [Italy] will be a great bonding experience as a team and a perfect opportunity to explore a new exciting place."

A committee of athletes consisting primarily of juniors and sophomores has been set up to brainstorm ways to raise money.  "We have a lot of excitement and great ideas right now, we just need to buckle down and get started," says Michael Davitian, '07.  Some of the ideas being floated include the sale of clothing on team's website, delivering groceries, organizing community road races, bingo, jog-a-thons, etc.  The team hopes to raise the necessary funds by January, 2007.

Ephs Run Away With Home Meet
January 23, 2006

Williams women destroyed the competition at the annual Williams Quad, their only home track meet of the indoor season, scoring 288 points to MIT's 122.5, Westfield State's 78.5, and RPI's 61.

The distance squad triumphed in every race up from 600 to 3000 meters. Lissy Robie ’08 tried her hand at a bit shorter distance than she is accustomed to in the 600 meter run, and she met great success with her 1:40.9 time, which qualifies for the ECAC and (provisionally) for the All New England meets later this season. Second place Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 came in three seconds behind Robie to qualify for the Division III New England meet. Mary Feely ’09 claimed victory in the 800 meter run, just meeting the Division III New England standard with her 2:28.49. Ally Holmes ’07 took fourth place in 2:33.58. Distance runners Caroline Cretti ’06 (captain) and Mallory Harlin ’08 tried out their mid-distance legs in the 1000 meter run and grabbed first and second places with their respective times of 3:03.67 and 3:07.27. Robin Kuntz ’09, Liz Gleason ’08, and Sarah Hill ’09 swept the fourth through sixth places and each qualified for the Division III New England meet.

Cretti also handily won the mile run, setting a new field house record of 5:03.17, which provisionally qualifies for nationals. Lauren Philbrook ’09, Karin Knudson ’09, Megan Bruck ’07, and Laura Ellison ’07 swept the third through sixth places of the mile. Rachel Asher ’09 made a dazzling debut on the track, running a well-paced 10:55.24 in the 3000 meters to win the race and qualify for the Division III New England meet. Julie McNamara took the fifth spot in 11:24.45.

The sprinters were in top form as well, winning all of their events. In the 55 meter dash, Captain Katie Fulton ’06 and Carrie Plitt ’08 claimed the top two spots with their respective final times of 7.39 and 7.50 seconds. After six heats of the 300 meter dash, Eph sprinters won the top five spots, led by Fulton in 42.57. Fulton was followed by Katie Howard ’07, Carrie Plitt ’08, Maddie Outman ’08, and Heather Bemis ’09. All-American Howard also set a new field house record of 59.75 seconds in the 400 meter dash, while Bemis took third in 61.1 seconds. The 4x 400 meter relay team of Jessica Kopcho ’09, Addie Buck ’07, Helen Hatch ’09, and Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 took first place in 4:24.61.

As for the field team, Caroline Doctor ’07 won the triple jump by nearly 6 feet, leaping to a field house record of 38’00.75.” This improves her provisional mark for nationals by over six inches. Alex Phillips ’07 took second in the weight throw with her toss of 47’06.5,” while teammates Abelee Esparza ’07 and Captain Katie Krause ’06 took third and fourth. “I was abroad during the fall semester, so I’m really focusing on regaining my strength right now,” said Phillips, whose solid throw qualified her for all postseason competitions except the NCAA meet. In the shot put, Krause, Phillips, and Esparza swept first through third, while multi-eventer Lindsay Millert ’09 took fifth. Krause’s 42’ 09.5” toss is a provisional mark for nationals. Kristen Moss ’06 and Outman took first and second in the high jump with their respective marks of 5’01.75” and 4’11.75.” In the long jump, All-American sprinter Plitt came out with the win, leaping to 16’11.25,” and Outman took third with her jump of 16’10.”

Next up for the Ephs is a trip to Boston next weekend to compete in the Reebok Boston games at Northeastern University on Friday the 27th.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9182

Ephs Win Quad Meet
January 22, 2006

Markus Burns '06 in the High JumpThe Williams men’s track & field team hosted the annual Williams Quad against MIT, RPI, and Westfield State on Saturday. Going into the meet, the Ephs knew they were in for a tough contest, as the MIT Engineers are a perennial New England power. Williams and MIT are always well-matched, since both squads are exceptionally deep and cover all of the event groups. Looking at the example of last year’s contest against MIT, a seven point Eph victory, captains John Symanski ’06, Dan Austin ’06 and Markus Burns ’06 impressed on the team the importance of every point, with even 7th or 8th place points having the potential to be the difference between victory and defeat. The Ephs responded to the challenge with a host of excellent performances across the board. Down by 37 points to MIT early in the meet, the Ephs stormed back, taking home a 15 point victory, with 207 points to MIT’s 192. RPI took 3rd with 109 points and Westfield State was fourth with 90.

In a meet filled with close individual duels between Ephs and Engineers, the throwing events provided the finest competition, with a match-up in the weight throw and shot put of two of the best throwers in Division III. MIT’s Uzoma Orji, currently ranked #1 nationally by several feet in both events, faced Dan Austin, national discus champion outdoors. Orji won both events, shattering the field house record in the weight throw in the process. Austin took home a pair of 2nd places, surpassing the national qualifying mark in both events with throws of 56-3 in the weight and 51-8 ¼ in the shot. The rest of the Williams throwers stepped up to take home valuable points. Dave DeVaughn ’07 scored a pair of PR’s in the weight and shot for the second straight week, placing 3rd in the weight with a 45-0 ¼ throw and 6th in the shot with a throw of 43-0 ½. Andrew DeSalvo ’08 and Matt Davis ’07 also placed well, with DeSalvo taking 5th in the shot (45-8 ½) and Davis taking 8th in the shot and 7th in the weight.

Deividas Seferis '09 in the 300mThe performance of the Williams sprinters was highlighted by first-year Deividas Seferis ‘09’s blazing run in the 300 meters. Competing in the second fastest heat, Seferis outduelled an RPI runner to take the overall event victory and the facility record in 36.13. John Symanski won the fastest heat to take second overall in 36.29. Earlier in the meet, Symanski and Seferis competed in the 55 meter dash. With four Ephs in the seven man final, Andrew Arons ’08 led the way, taking a convincing win in 6.51. Seferis was 3rd in 6.59, Symanski 4th in 6.60 and Branden Mirach ’07 found time in between winning the long and triple jumps to take 6th in 6.71.

In the longer events, Williams was well-represented. Tyler Gray ‘07 cruised past the field in the 600 meters for a three and a half second victory in 1:23.36. Mike Davitian ’07 had a closer race in the 800, but the result was the same, with Davitian outdistancing an MIT athlete in a quick 1:58.06. In the 1,000, Brooks Udelsman ’09 ran a tough race, narrowly losing to Westfield State’s John Messer in 2:37.69. Aaron Schwartz ’09 picked up a valuable point by taking 8th in the event as well.

In the mile, Neal Holtschulte ’06 ran his usual strong race, surging to the lead in the latter stages and fighting back an MIT challenge to win in 4:23.91. Thomas Brennan ’06 closed extremely well to take home third in 4:30.09. In the 3,000, Morgan Seybert ’08 stuck with MIT’s Eric Khatchadourian for lap after lap before falling slightly behind to take 2nd in 9:01.01. A pair of first-years also ran well: Tim Durham ’09 ran 9:08.92 for 4th and Brendan Christian ’09 ran 9:12.09 for 5th.

John Symanski '06 in the 4x440mThe Williams jumpers were responsible for a pair of victories, both from Branden Mirach. In the long jump, Mirach took first with an excellent 22-0 ¼. In the triple, it was 1-2 for the Ephs, with Mirach winning in 44-1 ¼ and Markus Burns 2nd in 43-9 ¾. Burns doubled back in the high jump, clearing 6-4 for 2nd. Eric Jonash ’09 was 4th in the event, and Joe Song ’08 was 7th, part of a day in which he competed in three individual events and a relay, highlighted by a 3rd place finish in the 55 hurdles in 8.26.

The Ephs had a small lead over MIT heading into the final two events, the 4x440 and 4x880 yard relays, but victories in both events put the meet away. In the 4x440, the Ephs fielded a young team. Joe Buck ’09, 4th in the individual 400, led off well, followed by good legs from Joe Song and Eric Jonash. On the anchor leg, John Symanski erased a sizable deficit to beat back the MIT challenge.

Mike Davitian set the tone early in the 4x880, kicking hard on the last lap of his opening leg to establish a big lead over MIT. Brooks Udelsman and Thomas Brennan maintained the lead on their carries, getting the baton to Tyler Gray, who let MIT’s anchor close the gap before cruising away for a comfortable win to end the meet, putting an emphatic stamp on a great performance from the entirety of the Williams track & field team.

Next week, the Ephs will travel to the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, where the extremely fast track and stiff competition should inspire a host of excellent individual performances.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9178

(1/14/05) Ephmen Impressive at Tufts Invite

For their second meet of the season, the Williams track & field team traveled to Medford for the non-scoring Tufts Invitational. The Ephs competed well, taking home victories in two individual events and sweeping the relays.

"Our men had another outstanding meet," said Eph head coach Ralph White. "We placed three in the 55 without running Andrew Arons. George Rodriquez now has the fastest time in New England with his 600 victory which is also true for Tyler Gray in the 1000. Mike Davitian came on late in the race to finish third with an excellent time of 4:03.10 Brooks Udelsman ran super for a first year and showed a lot of potential. Joe Song made his initial 55HH debut and ran great in the trials. Markus Burns just missed at 6'6 in the high jump."

In the 55 meter dash, the Ephs qualified three athletes for the final, taking home fourth, fifth and sixth places with Deividas Seferis ’09, John Symanski ’06, and Branden Mirach ’07. Seferis doubled in the 200 dash as well, placing 3rd in 22.76, behind Andrew Arons’ ‘08’s quick 22.70 for 2nd. In the 400, the much-improved Nick Reynolds ’08 placed 4th in 52.77 and then returned later in the meet to anchor the Ephs victorious 4x400 relay. The 4x200 relay also won, in 1:30.89, only two-tenths of a second off of the school record set last weekend at the Dartmouth Relays.

The Williams middle-distance runners provided both of the individual event victories. George Rodriguez ’06 battled Trevor Williams of Tufts to win the 600 meters by three-tenths. Chris Beeler ’08 ran a solid race to place third. In the 1,000 meters, Tyler Gray ’07 won his race as well, in a fine time of 2:33.07. First-year Macklin Chaffee ’09 was the second Williams finisher in the event with his 8th place finish. A strong Eph contingent competed in the 1,500. Mike Davitian ’07 led the way, placing 3rd in 4:03.10, ahead of Brooks Udelsman ’09 (6th in 4:08.13) and Morgan Seybert ’08 (8th in 4:09.60).

The Williams jumpers provided their usual excellent performances. Markus Burns ’06, in his first meet of the season, took home a hard-fought second place on misses in the high jump behind Jeremy Arak of Tufts, with a jump of 6 feet, 4 inches. In the long jump, Branden Mirach ’07 was also 2nd, behind an unattached athlete, in 20 feet, 10 and ¾ inches. Joe Song ’08 was 5th in the event, part of a busy day in which he also qualified for the final of the 55 meter hurdles and ran the 1,000.

Eph throwers acquitted themselves well in the shot put and weight throw. In the shot, sophomore Andrew DeSalvo ’08 was the top placer, with an impressive toss of 44-6 ¾, good for 3rd place. Dave DeVaughn ’07 took home 6th place in a personal-best 41-3 ¾. In the weight throw, DeVaughn scored another PR in finishing 5th in 41-5 and ¼, just behind Devin Schweppe ’07 (4th in 42-2 ¾) and ahead of Matt Davis ’07 (6th in 41-3).

Next week, the Ephs will have their lone home meet of the year, competing in Towne Field House against a field including traditional rival and perennial DIII New England power MIT, a meet which will give a good indication of the Ephs chances to take home their third straight Division III New England crown.

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9143

(1/14/05) Ephwomen Strong Showing at Tufts

Women’s track and field achieved many strong performances at the Tufts Invite in Medford, Massachusetts this Saturday. Williams athletes took first place in five different events, and many women set new personal records.

"The women had a lot of underclass women do well," noted Eph head coach Ralph White. "Carrie Plitt is starting to come on and Maddie Outman had a PR in the 55 high hurdles and shot put. First year Jessi Love-Nichols ran an outstanding 400 as did classmate Helen Hatch. Both of these women will contribute at the NCAA Div. 3 championships. Junior Katie Howard ran the fastest time in New England winning the 600 while first year Heather Bemis finished fourth out of the slow heat. Elizabeth Linds looked good running a PR in the 3000."

Williams dominated the 5000 with Caroline Cretti qualifify auto for NCAA's while teammates Mallory Harlin and Liz Gleason hitting provo marks.  Caroline Doctor improve her provo mark for NCAA's while winning the triple jump. Katie Krause hit a provo in the shot put placing second.

The field team looked especially solid, with Caroline Doctor ’07 jumping 16’ 07.25” to win the long jump and Kristin Moss ’06 winning the high jump with her mark of 5’ 03.75”. Both improved their marks from last week’s meet at Dartmouth. In addition, Doctor and Moss took second and third in the triple jump with leaps of 37’ 06.5” and 36’ 04,” respectively. This improves Doctor's provisional national-qualifying mark in the triple jump by 7 inches. Captain Katie Krause ’06 took second in the shot put with her throw of 42’ 09.5,” a mark that provisionally qualifies her for nationals. Krause also took fourth place in the weight throw with a mark of 40’ 06.” Abelee Esparza ’07 executed a weight throw of 43’ 01.5” to capture third place in that event. Multi-eventer Maddy Outman, who has been competing in up to nine events per meet, ran a new personal record of 8.79 seconds in the 55 meter hurdles to capture second place.

The sprinters were in top form as well, crushing the competition in the 4x 400 meter relay. All-Americans Katie Howard ’07, Katie Fulton ’06 (captain), and Carrie Plitt ’08 teamed up with Heather Bemis ’09 to run 4:01.87, besting second-placed UMass Lowell by nearly eight seconds. Howard, who holds the school record for 400 meters, also claimed victory in the 600 meters with her time of 1:38.15. Bemis, with a time of 1:40.69, was the top finisher in her heat of the 600 meters to take fourth overall. Plitt captured third place in the 200 meters with her time of 26.84, while Outman took sixth in 27.47. Both Plitt and Outman also qualified for the 55 meter final, and they dashed to fourth and sixth place finishes in 7.54 and 7.76 seconds, respectively. In the 400 meters, first-years Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 and Helen Hatch ’09 ran 62.30 and 63.42 seconds to take the second and fourth places.

Captain Caroline Cretti ’06 ran an automatic national-qualifying time of 17:06.12 in the 5000 meters, while teammates Liz Gleason ’08 and Mallory Harlin ’08 worked together to achieve huge personal records with their perfectly-paced 17:42. Harlin barely edged out Gleason in the final lap to take third; both are now provisionally qualified for nationals. In the 1000 meters, mid-distance star Lissy Robie ’08 took third in a time of 3:04.67, despite being tripped by a competitor that inconveniently dropped out of the race directly in front of her. “I felt kind of badly, because I had to push her out of the way, and it made her fall over,” said Robie afterward. Robie also anchored the 4x 800 meter relay team that won second place. Mary Feeley ’09, Karin Knudson ’09, and Robin Kuntz ’09 comprised the other three legs of this young group. In the 3000 meters, Beth Links ’09 raced to a big personal record of 11:06.18, taking seventh place.

Next week the Ephs compete at home in the Williams Relays; come cheer them on as they take on MIT, RPI, and Westfield in the Towne Field House, beginning at 10:00 AM Saturday, January 21. Go Ephs!

Source: http://www.williams.edu/athletics/news.php?id=9147

Ephs Run Away With Home Meet
January 23, 2006

Williams women destroyed the competition at the annual Williams Quad, their only home track meet of the indoor season, scoring 288 points to MIT's 122.5, Westfield State's 78.5, and RPI's 61.

The distance squad triumphed in every race up from 600 to 3000 meters. Lissy Robie ’08 tried her hand at a bit shorter distance than she is accustomed to in the 600 meter run, and she met great success with her 1:40.9 time, which qualifies for the ECAC and (provisionally) for the All New England meets later this season. Second place Jessica Love-Nichols ’09 came in three seconds behind Robie to qualify for the Division III New England meet. Mary Feely ’09 claimed victory in the 800 meter run, just meeting the Division III New England standard with her 2:28.49. Ally Holmes ’07 took fourth place in 2:33.58. Distance runners Caroline Cretti ’06 (captain) and Mallory Harlin ’08 tried out their mid-distance legs in the 1000 meter run and grabbed first and second places with their respective times of 3:03.67 and 3:07.27. Robin Kuntz ’09, Liz Gleason ’08, and Sarah Hill ’09 swept the fourth through sixth places and each qualified for the Division III New England meet.

Cretti also handily won the mile run, setting a new field house record of 5:03.17, which provisionally qualifies for nationals. Lauren Philbrook ’09, Karin Knudson ’09, Megan Bruck ’07, and Laura Ellison ’07 swept the third through sixth places of the mile. Rachel Asher ’09 made a dazzling debut on the track, running a well-paced 10:55.24 in the 3000 meters to win the race and qualify for the Division III New England meet. Julie McNamara took the fifth spot in 11:24.45