Track enjoys stellar first day at Sam Howell Invitational

Both the men’s and women’s track teams performed impressively on day one of the Sam Howell Invitational held in Weaver Stadium this past Saturday and Sunday.

Junior Zoe Sims placed third in the 800m at 2:11.44, followed by Jackie Berardo in fifth with a personal record of 2:13.45 and freshman Anna Jurew at 2:14.76.

At a personal record time of 4:33.29, junior Katie Hanss finished in third in the 1500m behind two unattached runners. Freshman Steven Sum took fifth for the men.

Junior Ally Markovich was also the top collegiate athlete behind two unattached runners in the steeplechase. Markovich achieved a personal record with a time of 10:42.14.

Taking a year off at Princeton, unattached competitor Megan Curham won the 5k at 16:14.85. Senior Kathryn Little finished at 17:23.01, the best time for the Tigers. Senior Sam Berger came in 12th place with a time of 14:38.06.

The Tigers also claimed the first and second place titles in the hammer throw after sophomore Kennedy O’Dell threw to 51.77m (169-10) on her final throw and senior Brielle Rowe reached 50.75m (166-6) on her third throw. O’Dell and Rowe were the only female athletes to surpass the 50-meter mark. On the men’s side, freshman Adam Kelly took first place at 66.37m.

Rowe and O’Dell also earned the second and fourth place titles, respectively, in the discus. While Rowe reached 44.68m (146-7) on her fourth attempt, O’Dell threw to 41.20m (135-2) on her final throw. Sophomore Mitchel Charles came in first in this event at 51.71m (169-8) on his final attempt. Junior Jared Bell came in second at 50.92. Charles and Bell were the only two athletes to surpass 50 meters.

Junior Ariel Becker finished in fifth place in the javelin toss at 36.80m (120-9) on her final throw.

Senior Adam Bragg came in first in the pole vault at 5.40m (17-8.50). Sophomore August Kiles finished in second at 5.15m after his first attempt.

The men went on to win all five events they entered on day two.

Freshman Josh Billington won the 100m at 11.05 and was followed shortly by junior Brent Albertson to 11.14 in second place.

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The Tigers also took the first and second place titles in the 400m hurdles with sophomore Spencer Long’s finish at 56.11 and junior Greg Leeper’s finish at 56.43.

Finishing with a time of 50.51, sophomore Josh Freeman won the 400m. Freshman Cole Bransford clocked at 50.86 to come in second. The pair was shortly followed by sophomore Brennan O’Connor in fourth and senior Travis McHugh in fifth.

Shot put was held inside Jadwin Gym, where junior Chris Cook, sophomore Mitchel Charles and junior Jared Bell earned the top three titles, respectively.

The women also didn’t fail to impress, winning four events on Sunday.

With junior Elisa Steele at 25.78, sophomore Ashley Reed at 27.29, junior Allison Harris at 27.32, and freshman Allison Glossinger at 27.58, the Tigers cleanly swept the top four places in the 200m.

Steele also finished in second in the 400m at 57.08, while sophomore Ashley Forte, junior Zoe Sims, and sophomore Quinn Parker followed in third, fifth and sixth.

Sophomore Melinda Renuart won the 1500m at 4:39.17 on Day 2, while Saturday’s winner Katie Hanss took first in the 800m at 2:15.63.

Freshman Shea Copeland finished in fifth in the 100m, and freshman Carly Bonnet and sophomore Madelyn Baron took first and second place in the 400m hurdle.

Clearing 1.70m (5-7) on her first attempt, senior Taylor Morgan won the high jump, while her teammates Kerry Krause and Frances Lodge finished in third and fourth. Morgan also competed in the shot put, coming in second.

Harris claimed first again in the pole vault, and the Tigers took the second to sixth place titles in the long jump. Junior Alex Lanzafame leapt to 11.18m (36-8.25) in the triple jump.

“I hope both to continue improving personally as well as for my teammates to continue improving themselves,” Morgan stated earlier on in the season. “The idea is to raise up the standard of practice and competition in order to make each other the best athletes we can be,” he continued, a goal that the team has undoubtedly accomplished itself this past weekend.