Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams went into the Yellow Jacket Invitational at AIC off the back of a very solid start to the outdoor season. While the women have been picking up where they left off after a successful indoor season, the men are bouncing back after being set back by a number of injuries. There were, as usual, many strong Cardinal performances.
On the men’s side, Bryan Marsh ’13 continued his fantastic season. He eclipsed Wesleyan’s 10k record that had stood for 18 years—set by All-American Joe Mahoney ’94 in 1995. Thus far in 2012-13, Marsh has earned cross country All-America honors and qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in the 5k. Other noteworthy performances on the day came from Will Sawyer ’16, who took third in the pole vault (13-5 1/4), and Agbonlahor Edomwonyi ’16 who came in third in the shot-put (45-6 1/4).
“I hit a personal record,” said Edomwonyi, who was the top Division III finisher on the day. “So that bodes well for me as the season crosses over the halfway point. I hope to qualify for some of the qualifying meets that start in three weeks sometime during the next two competitions.”
Other top-five finishers on the day were Austin Cotant ’13, who finished fifth in the 1500m and Shane Bernard ’14, who took fifth in the long jump.
For the women, it was once again Julia Mark ’13 who stole the show, as she won the 5k with a time of 17:30.91. Also performing well in the event was Hannah Zimmerman ’13, who came in second with a time of 17:50.33. Mark, coming off the back of strong cross country and indoor seasons, is certainly having a senior year to remember.
“I always get pumped for each season, but since this is my last season I’m extra psyched and determined to leave on a high note,” Mark said.
Another first-place finish at the meet came in the 4x100m, where Sierra Livious ’14, Idara Foster ’15, Lia Monti ’13, and Alexis Walker ’16 stormed home in a time of 0:49.65. As she has done all season, Walker showcased her diverse abilities with a second-place finish in the long jump, posting a 17-9 effort. Fellow freshman Kiley Kennedy added to the scores with an impressive fourth in the pole vault. The remaining top-five finishes came from Geneva Jonathan ’15, who snagged fourth in the 400m hurdles, and Foster, who placed fifth in the 100m dash.
Overall on the day, the men placed eighth of 18 teams, and the women placed fifth of 16 squads. With a proven record of consistent performances, both teams can now look ahead with confidence for a visit to the UMass Invitational on Saturday, April 13.