On Saturday, March 24, the Wesleyan track team opened its spring outdoor campaign at the Jerry Gravel Classic, an annual meet held by Westfield State College in Massachusetts. This inaugural event proved to be an auspicious start to the Cardinals season, as the women’s team placed third out of 13 competing teams, while the men finished sixth out of 15.
The primary point-getters for both squads in the distance events are familiar names to faithful followers of Wesleyan harriers. Cross Country veterans Alanah Hall ’15 and Hannah Zimmerman ’13 took first place in the 5,000m and 10,000m, respectively, while the junior crew of Sam Roth, Austin Cotant, Skyler Cummins, and Bryan Marsh provided top seven finishes for the men in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m, which Cummins won with a time of 33:13.53, finishing just 20 nanoseconds faster than Marsh, who finished second with a time of 33:13.73.
In the sprint events, freshman standout Idara Foster paced the women’s squad, finishing third in both the 100m and 200m events, with times of 12.88 and 26.30, respectively. Also placing for Wesleyan were Ambrosia Smith ’15 in the 400m, which she ran in 1:01.44, good for third place, and Kimora Brock ’15 in the 800m, in which she took fifth place with a time of 2:24.94. For the men, it was the football team that came through in the sprint events, as star running back LaDarius Drew ’15 took second in the 200m with a time of 22.48, and third in the 400m, with a time of 50.85. Wide receiver Paulie Lowther ’13 finished fifth in the 100m dash with a time of 11.43, and eighth in the 200m with a time of 23.24.
With one race under their belts, the Wesleyan track team will head to the Coast Guard this Saturday to compete in the USCGA Invitational.