Wesleyan’s men’s and women’s track and field teams kicked off their respective seasons on Saturday, Dec. 1 with strong performances in an invitational tournament held at the Bacon Field House.
On the men’s side, there were first place performances by Agbon Edomwonyi ’16 in the weight throw, Will Sawyer ’16 in the pole vault, Ernie Wingate ’14 in the 60 meters hurdles, and Michael Onah ’13 in the 600 meters, while the 4X400 meters relay team of Luca Ameri ’15, James Dottin ’13, Jack Pacelle ’13, and Noah Nichols ’14 also came out on top.
On the women’s side, Sierra Livious ’14 took first place in the shot put when she shattered her own school record. Livious also took second in the 60 meters dash and third in the high jump. Other first-place finishers for the women include Alexis Walker ’16 in the long jump and 60 meters, Kate Cullen ’16 in the 600 meters, Kiley Kennedy ’16 in the pole vault, Geneva Jonathan ’15 in the 60 meters hurdles, and Brynn Hansson ’15 in the 400 meters. The 400 meters relay team of Melissa Luning ’15, Lia Monti ’13, Jonathan and Idara Foster ’15 also took top prize.
While competition on Saturday was not as fierce as it will be in the upcoming season, performances were still impressive, and both teams will be pleased with the manner in which they have hit the ground running.
“I think that Sierra [Livious] definitely set the tone for what our attitude should be for the entire season, which is to get after your goals early and always,” Onah said.
Though Livious was the only athlete to break a school record, there were a number of other tremendous performances on the day. In his first ever competitive appearance for Wesleyan, Edomwonyi threw a huge 38-7 ½ to win the weight throw, while also taking second in the shot put.
“It was pretty nice to don a Wesleyan uniform and win an event,” Edomwonyi said. “I hope to continue making strides to help the team win meets and to improve personally.”
Another outstanding Wesleyan performance came in the women’s 60 meters hurdles, in which Geneva Jonathan, Orelia Jonathan ’15 and Leyna Donaldson ’15 took first, second, and third places, respectively.
Of course, Wesleyan’s domination of this event is not a guarantee of great things to come. NESCAC rivals will certainly pose a stiffer challenge than the likes of Bay Path, Manhattanville, Medgar Evers, and Mount Saint, the four other teams competing in the event. Nonetheless, one sign that unquestionably bodes well is that that the incoming freshman class is already showing great promise. There were multiple freshman winners in their respective categories, all of whom are listed above. Furthermore, their inexperience at the college level suggests that performance will improve as the season goes on.
“I feel that although I’m not where I was at the end of my high school career that I am still at a good place to do great things in the future, especially since I’ll be working on my technique,” Walker said.
Walker took two first place finishes on Saturday. Though competition for both teams does not restart until Jan. 12, there are already signs that this could be a great year for Wesleyan track and field.