After a two-week long hiatus from competition for most of the Cardinals, the track and field teams returned to action this weekend, traveling to Conn. College for the Silfen Track Invitational. Competing outside and in decent weather for the first time this season, Wesleyan more than held its own against strong competition.
Both teams secured third place behind Tufts and Worcester State, while outclassing in-state NESCAC rivals Conn. College and Trinity, along with nine other universities. The women’s team claimed 124.5 points, almost 50 ahead of Conn College’s 75, while the men’s side scored 95 points, 11 more than Bentley University’s 84.
Both the men’s and women’s teams racked up points across the board during the two-day meet, placing highly in almost every event they entered in.
On the men’s side, the duo of LaDarius Drew ’15 and Agbon Edomwonyi ’16 led the charge. Drew dominated the sprints, winning both the 100m and 200m dashes, as well as contributing to the victorious 4x100m relay. Edomwonyi similarly dusted the competition in the throwing events, achieving victories in the shot put and hammer throw, while falling just one inch short of another victory in the discus.
Will Dudek ’17 and Evan Bieder ’15 steered the ship for the men’s distance squad, placing second in the competitive 1500m and 5000m events, respectively. Taylor Titcomb ’16 and Keith Conway ’16 both scored points in the 5000m as well, placing 8th and 11th, respectively. Tate Knight ’18 followed up a solid performance last week with a 12th-place finish in the 1500m, second out of the first-year participants entered.
Thomas Reid ’18 carried over his encouraging performance in the 400m hurdles event at the Coast Guard Invitational, placing second and just beating out his time from two weeks ago. Reid also ran in the victorious 4x100m relay with Drew, Albert Fang ’18, and Jason Mitchner ’18.
“It was great to see our guys run aggressively in such a competitive meet this early in the season,” Dudek wrote in an email to The Argus.
The women’s team saw first-place victories from Ellie Martin ’16 in the 400m, Kiley Kennedy ’16 in the pole vault, long jumper Alexis Walker ’16, and the 4x400m relay, which consisted of Melissa Luning ’15, Ananya Subrahmanian ’18, Sydney Cogswell ’16, and Aida Julien ’18.
“The 4x400m was a good speed workout for us,” Cogswell said. “It helped me gain confidence in going out faster in my opening 400m of my 800m.”
For the women, point-winning performances came in just about every event. In the sprint events, Idara Foster ’15 placed third in a competitive 100m dash, Sarah Swenson ’18 came fourth in the 200m and fifth in the 400m, and Subrahmanian backed up Martin’s winning performance in the 400m with a second place finish.
In the hurdle events, Geneva Jonathan ’15 and Leyna Donaldson ’15 came in seventh and eighth, while the trio of Jonathan, Hannah Goodman ’16, and Becca Winkler ’16 secured third, fifth, and seventh place in the 400m hurdles.
In the mid-distance and distance events, Cogswell and Julien captured fourth and fifth in the 800m, while Molly Schassberger ’17 and Caroline Elmendorf ’17 ran hard in the 5000m for a fourth and seventh place effort, respectively.
In addition to Walker and Kennedy’s victories in the long jump and pole vault, the women’s team showed up on the field as well as the track. Orelia Jonathan ’15 competed in both the hammer throw and the discus, garnering second and third place in those events, respectively. Jonathan has consistently improved across the board in throwing events since her first year, and this season she will likely look to be in the mix for medal positions in each of the shot put, discus, and hammer throw events at NESCACs.
“The Friday night events were a great experience with great competition,” said Cogswell. “It was also our first outdoor 800, so it was good to have people to take us out. I’m excited to compete next week and at NESCACs.”
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