After a strong performance for the Wesleyan track team at the annual NESCAC Championships, the Cardinals sent a small squad of eight to MIT this past weekend for the New England Division III Championships. Despite being undermanned, the track team performed valiantly in the event that spanned from Friday, May 4, to Saturday, May 5.
Sierra Livious ’14 led the way for the Cards by winning the heptathlon by a margin of six points. With her athletic versatility put to the test, Livious flourished in the competition by winning the 100m hurdle and shot put portions of the event. Her cause was furthered by second-place finishes in the 200m dash and the long jump and a fifth-place showing in the high jump. By garnering a significant number of points in these five events, Livious was able to offset her average performances in the 800m dash and the javelin throw to take home the heptathlon crown.
With the victory, Livious earned the only 10 points for the Wesleyan women and enabled the team to finish 20th out of 27. Nicole Lepre ’13, Jessica Sherry ’13, and Julia Frieze ’12 all provided commendable efforts in their respective events, as they were the only other Lady Cards to compete over the weekend.
On the men’s side of action, Chris Sailor ’15 and Alex Iwamoto ’12 were the lone point-getters as the team finished in 26th place out of 27. Both Sailor and Iwamoto competed in the triple jump and recorded leaps of 13.53m and 13.45m respectively. Their jumps were good enough to place sixth and seventh out of 24 and earn a total of five points for the men’s team. Iwamoto has now recorded back-to-back seventh place results at the New England Championships.
Jack Pacelle ’13 and Nayan Ghosh ’15 also competed for the Cardinals in Cambridge this past weekend—Pacelle clocked a time of 50.54 in the 400m dash to finish in 16th place, while Ghosh’s pole vault of 4.10m placed him 13th of 24. Despite the middle-of-the-pack result, Ghosh placed the highest out of all freshmen in the event.
The Wesleyan track team will head back to MIT on Friday, May 10, for the Open New England Championships. With exam time looming, it is expected that the Cards will send a small squad yet again to compete in Cambridge. All-American quint-captain Tommie Lark ’12 finished third in the triple jump at last year’s meet. He will almost certainly compete in order to prepare for the NCAA Division III Championships, which will take place in Claremont, Calif., at the end of May.