Greg Fitzpatrick
Staff Writer
Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in a tri-meet last Saturday, April 6. Being the second outdoor meet of the season, the Pride wanted success on their home track.
There were a variety of great performances from both the men and women, but neither came out on top. The men finished in third with 87.5 points, with Middlebury taking first place with 181 points and Bowdoin at second with 143.5 points respectively. The women placed second overall with 134 points, as Middlebury also took first with 143 points.
Freshman Sam Baker won the high jump at 6-feet-2-inches. Brandon Hammerstrom won the shot put with a length of 43-feet-9-inches.
The hammer-toss event had two great performances. Coming in first place was junior standout John Dayton with 177-feet-5-inches. Not far behind in second place was freshman Pete Andrews at 169-feet-1-inch.
Also placing well were a pair of sophomores. Ken Toal got second in the 100 meter race with a time of 11.27 seconds. Dan Sugar earned first in the 10,000 meter run with the time of 37:48.56.
Dayton was pleased with the way he performed in his second meet. He was extremely close to making nationals in indoor, missing by five inches. This meet gave him plenty of confidence for moving forward.
“I’m really happy. [I] only threw two feet less than last meet,” said Dayton.
With Dayton coming along as a very successful hammer-thrower, he is very happy to see another young thrower making great strides. Pete Andrews has improved greatly, and Dayton is very happy with that.
“It is really exciting because he is really coming along. It also doesn’t hurt that he threw in high school,” Dayton added.
The women also experienced some success this past weekend from Crystal Davis, Laurie Jenkins, Darian Dailey and Elizabeth Saia.
Davis, a senior captain, had quite the successful day in two different events. Davis was first in the 100 meter at 12.635 and earned second place in the 200 at 26.31.
Overall, Davis was very pleased with how she finished.
“Last Saturday I felt like I performed very well. I won the 100 meter dash and even shed off a little time,” said Davis.
Davis’ teammate, fellow senior captain, Laurie Jenkins, was also tremendous in the two events that she competed in. Jenkins got first in the 200 meter race with a time of 26.06, and second in the 400 meter race in one minute and 33 seconds.
The events didn’t stop there for Davis and Jenkins. Both competed in the 4×100 relay race with freshman Darian Dailey and sophomore Elizabeth Saia.
Davis, Jenkins, Dailey and Saia got first in the relay at 50 minutes and 16 seconds.
Some other winners for the lady Pride were Erica Fisher, Amanda Martin and Gabby Gaudreault. Fisher had a time of 39 minutes and 40 seconds for the 10,000 meter run, while Amanda Martin reached 37-feet-2-inches in the triple jump.
Gaudreault finished the 800 meter in 2:18.50.
As the outdoor season is just underway, both Davis and Dayton are striving to achieve their own personal goals and are also confident in the rest of their teammates.
“My goal for this outdoor season is to just do my overall best,” said Davis. “I want my younger teammates to know and understand the importance of the bond the team shares.”
Dayton reiterated the message.
“I just want to keep improving and see the team do really well,” said Dayton.
The next meet for the men and women is next Saturday, April 13 at home against Coast Guard and WPI.