Track and field put on some impressive displays this last weekend as the team took on very strong Amherst and Williams sides at the Little Three Meet. Williams took its turn to host the annual competition this year, and the Ephs dominated as usual. Nonetheless, the Cardinals certainly made their presence felt as the women placed second with 105 total team points and the men third with 97 points.
Coming into the meet, expectations were high after a strong start to the outdoor season. Nonetheless, there are always a lot of nerves when coming up against such quality opposition. Wesleyan’s athletes remained unfazed, displaying a great deal of composure. They were at no stage off the pace against two programs with vast advantages in terms of both resources and recruiting power.
The team performance from the women was outstanding, and for the second year running they comfortably defeated Amherst—this year by 35 points. Geneva Jonathan ’15 placed first in the 400m hurdles, as well as second in the 100m hurdles and the javelin. Jonathan’s ability in the 400m hurdles is one of Wesleyan’s biggest assets heading into the latter part of the season—Amherst and Williams simply cannot boast an athlete anywhere near her level.
“It was one step closer to where I want to be in the hurdles,” said Jonathan, “although Williams and Amherst do not provide any real competition.”
The other first-place finish on the day came from the consistently outstanding Alexis Walker ’16 in the 100m. More strong runs came from Idara Foster ’15 who came in second in the 100m and third in the 200m. Another notable performance on the day came from Orelia Jonathan ’15, who took second in the discus and third in the shot put and the 400m hurdles. Elsewhere, Kiley Kennedy ’16 continued her good form, taking second in the pole vault.
On the men’s side, though the number of contributions throughout the team was high, several familiar faces came roaring through to take top prizes. Agbon Edomwonyi ’16, Will Sawyer ’16, and Skyler Cummins ’13 finished first in the shot put, pole vault, and 1500m, respectively. Edomwonyi took the shot put with a 46-11 toss, Sawyer won the pole vault at a height of 12-3 1/2, and Cummins was victorious in the 1500m with a time of 3:57.10.
The 1500m success on the day was not a great surprise. It is an event in which Wesleyan not only possesses phenomenal talent but also strength in depth, something that was evident as Austin Cotant ’13 placed in second.
“We knew we were stronger than any of the guys from Williams or Amherst,” Cummins said. “So we took the race out hard and kept the pace honest from the beginning. The honest pace prevented any slow guys from Williams or Amherst from potentially grabbing undeserved points in a kick.”
A shout-out also goes to the men’s 4x100m team of Luca Ameri ’15, James Dottin ’13, Paulie Lowther ’13, and Noah Nichols ’14, which took second in 0:43.56. Both the men and women potentially have very strong 4x100m sides, and putting up such quick times certainly bodes well for future meets.
The team will next compete at Tufts this Saturday, April 27, for the annual NESCAC Championships. The meet is one of the biggest of the year, and competition will be stiff, but all signs suggest that Wesleyan will rise to the challenge and maybe even set a few school records.