Track and Field Shows Well at DIII Championships

This past weekend, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to compete in the New England Division III Championships on Feb. 25-26. The men journeyed to Middlebury and placed sixth out of 25 teams, while the women came in third out of 26 teams at Colby. Both teams had successful weekends overall, with some outstanding individual performances at both locations.

For the women, Eliza Cardwell ’25 not only crushed her competition in the 60-meter hurdles, winning her race in just 8.73 seconds, but she also set a school record while capturing the fourth best time in all of Division III this season. Ella Rossa ’21 had set the previous record back in 2020 to win the championship at this same meet, but Cardwell now holds that title.

Cardwell was also one of two Mammoths to take home All-New England honors in the long jump, with a personal-best jump of 5.58 meters. Muffie Mazambani ’24 was the other, finishing fourth in her first New England Championship with a jump of 5.39 meters, also a personal best. Mazambani earned All-New England honors in the triple jump as well, with another personal-best jump of 11.31 meters, which secured her a fifth place finish. Julia Zacher ’25 captured All-New England honors in the high jump, clearing 1.59 meters and coming in sixth in her New England Championship debut.

For the first time in Amherst history, the Mammoths’ 4x400-meter relay team won the New England title thanks to a phenomenal group effort by Anna Madden ’22, Juanita Jaramillo ’22, Katie Lingen ’22, and Casie Eifrig ’25. Jaramillo and Lingen also earned All-New England honors in their middle-distance races, finishing seventh in the 400-meter and fourth in the 600-meter dashes, respectively. A pair of first years also earned top-eight finishes in middle-distance races, as Julia Schor ’25 finished fourth in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:18.86 and Ava Zielinski ’25 posted a 2:21.73 to claim sixth.

The long-distance races were also sources of success for the Mammoths. Sidnie Kulik ’25 and Sophia Wolmer ’23 both earned All-New England honors in the 3,000-meter run, with Kulik finishing second in a season-best time of 9:54.93, good for 15th in the nation this season. Wolmer repeated as an All-New England finisher with a season-best time of 10:02.92, finishing fourth. Wolmer also notched a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters.

The men impressively tallied 11 All-New England performances this past weekend. Although they placed sixth at New Englands, they still ranked second in their smaller region in the most recent USTFCCCA Division III rankings.

With a personal-best score of 4,637 points, Jack Trent ’23 secured third place in the heptathlon and a top-20 mark in Division III this season. Trent also ran a personal-best time in the 1,000 meters, capturing his first career All-New England finish.

Henry Buren ’22 also had an impressive showing this past weekend, not only placing top-four in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, but also notching a personal best time of 6.94 in the 60 meters and securing his sixth career All-New England finish.

The men also emulated the women’s success in the middle-distance events. Gent Malushaga ’25 posted a season and personal best of 2:33.61 in the 1,000 meters to finish in fourth place. Not to be outdone, Kolya Markov-Riss ’24 marked his New England Championship performance with a fourth-place, All-New England finish in the 600 meters, and Wilson Spurrell ’24E earned All-New England honors and a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters with a season- and personal-best 1:55.44. The Mammoths’ 4x800m relay team also secured All-New England honors, with the team of Braedon Fiume ’24, Spurrell, Jack O'Hara ’25, and Alexander Rich ’25 finishing sixth.

Looking to long distance, Owen Daily ’23 ran a 4:21.39 mile, coming in eighth place among both sections of the race and winning his section. Daily also earned his third career All-New England selection in the process. He was also a part of the distance medley relay team — comprising himself, Fiume, O’Hara, and Charlie Clary ’24 — that captured All-New England honors this weekend.

Juniors Kelechi Eziri ’23 and Chris Gong ’23 were also among those to earn repeat All-New England finishes, landing strong performances in the jumping events. Eziri claimed third place in the triple jump with a mark of 14.05 meters, and Gong finished third in the long jump, leaping to a personal-best distance of 6.88 meters. First-year Camden Heafitz ’25 cleared 1.91 meters to finish sixth in the high jump.

A select group of both the men and women’s team will compete at Tufts on Saturday, March 5, for their final shot at clocking more top times before the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships on March 11 in North Carolina. An elite group of the top 20 athletes in each individual event and the top 12 relay teams will qualify to square off against the best of the best at this year’s championships.