Wesleyan’s indoor track teams continued to roll with several strong finishes at the Smith College Classic Saturday. The women finished fourth in a field of ten teams and the men managed a fifth place finish despite resting several stars.
Captain Courtney Quirin ’05 returned from an injury and won the 5,000-meter race in her first indoor track event of the season, covering the distance in 18 minutes and 23 seconds. Steph O’Brien ’08 finished first in the 600-meter event (1:43) and Ellen Davis ’07 topped the field in the 3,000-meter event (10:27), giving the Cardinals three first place finishers at the meet.
Erin Smith ’06 came in just behind Davis for a second place finish in the 3,000-meter race (10:38), Megan Wise ’05 placed third in the 1,000-meter race (3:11), Tamier Holder ’08 finished third in the 55-meter dash (:7.8), and Cara Chebuske ’06 came in fourth in the 800-meter run (2:27)
On the men’s side, Nate Huddell ’07 led the way by placing first in the 1,500-meter event, crossing the finish line in four minutes and twelve seconds. Gabe Roxby ’06 also finished first for the Cardinals, covering 600 meters in 1:26.
“A few of our runners took the weekend off from competition to rest for next week’s meet at Boston University, so the door was left open for the younger guys to have an impact,” Huddell said.
Nick Gavelis ’08 took fourth in the 800-meter run, while Alex Battaglino ’07, Jon King ’07 and Nick Holowka ’07 finished fifth, sixth and eleventh, respectively, in the 3,000-meter run. Joel Pratt ’07 and Rob McCourt ’08 each finished third for Wesleyan. Pratt was third in the high jump (6′ 2“) and McCourt was third in the shot put (43′ 7 1/4”).
“I think that the meet was demonstrative of the Wesleyan cross-country spirit as both Nate Huddell and Nick ‘Saturday Night’ Holowka showed true grit and determination in their inspiring races,” said Matt Franco ’07. “The meet also showed the determination of the track team, as the throwers reminded me of Roman gods crushing boulders on mere mortals.”
The Cardinals will host the Wesleyan Invitational in Bacon Field House on Saturday at 10 a.m., but several of the team’s best players will instead be at the invitational at Boston College.
“Both our distance and middle distance squads are starting to turn out some very impressive races, and this weekend’s invitational in Boston promises to be an exciting one, with both Matt Moss ’05 and Chris Greene ’08 looking to break the school record in the 1000m,” Huddell said.
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