Track and Field Caps Off Season With Strong Showing at Williams College Meet

Over the past weekend, the Amherst men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Williams College to participate in quad-meet action against Tufts University, Middlebury College and Williams.

On the men’s side, the Mammoths won five of the 11 events in which they submitted a competitor.

Henry Buren ’22 dominated in the 100-meter dash, crossing the finish line in just 10.68 seconds in a race where the second-place finisher recorded a time of 11.03 seconds. Ryan Prenosil ’21 took home the gold by clocking in at 1:53:19 in the 800-meter dash, narrowly edging out competitors from Williams and Tufts by three-tenths of a second. 

In the decathlon, Troy Colleran ’22 claimed victory with a score of 6,714 points, setting the Amherst decathlon record in the process. Additionally, Chris Gong ’23 won the long-jump with a leap of 6.87 meters. The Mammoths’ fifth gold came from Ellis Phillips-Gallucci ’23, who crossed the finish line in just 57.19 seconds as the lone competitor in the 400-meter hurdles.

Gabriel Dos Santos ’24 capped off his first-year campaign by placing second in the high-jump, clearing the bar at 1.88 meters. Alton Machen ’24 also earned a second-place finish, completing the 400-meter race in 50.79 seconds.

The women’s team submitted competitors in 16 events and secured two victories.

Ella Rossa ’21 won the 100-meter hurdles with ease, crossing the finish line in 14.67 seconds, almost a full second and a half in front of the next finisher. 

Sophia Wolmer ’23 had a strong showing in the meet’s long-distance event, completing the 10,000-meter race in just over 36 minutes and 19 seconds, earning a second-place finish. Sarah Gayer ’21 also finished second in one of the meet’s longer events, crossing the finish line in the 5,000-meter race in under 18 minutes and 50 seconds. 

Ally Deegan ’24 and Isabelle Lobo ’22 earned third-place finishes in the 1,500-meter and 400-meter races, respectively. Deegan clocked a time of 4:39.23 and Lobo completed the 400-meter race in 1:02.21.

Bethany Martin ’24 earned top-finishes in multiple field events. Martin placed second in hammer and discus throws with distances of 38.71 meters and 33.56 meters, respectively, and earned a third-place finish in the shot put. Earning a second-place finish in javelin, Carolina Andrade ’24 set a school record with a throw of 28.42 meters.

The squad’s second gold came in the 4×400-meter relay, in which an all-junior team of Anna Madden ’22, Samantha Tichelaar ’22, Katie Lingen ’22 and Juanita Jaramillo ’22  clocked a time of 3:51.38, almost 16 seconds ahead of the runner up, Middlebury, who finished in 4:07.36.

The meet caps off the Mammoths’ regular season as both the men’s and women’s teams look ahead to potential bids in the NCAA Championships on May 27-29. The selection show is set for Saturday, May 22.