On an unseasonably warm April day, the Wesleyan runners, jumpers and throwers headed up to Amherst Saturday for the annual Little Three meet.
“Heat was a factor all day,” said Jonah Blumstein ’09. “Whenever it’s over 70 degrees, it starts to become a problem for distance runners. And it was 85.”
Despite the heat, the Wesleyan men and women performed well against the larger Williams and Amherst squads.
“[The meet] went pretty well,” said Hannah Hastings ’08. “We were outnumbered, and we have a hard time competing with Williams, but we’re more competitive with Amherst.”
The Wesleyan men finished in second place with 117 team points to Williams’s 182. The women’s team accumulated 93.5 points, which placed them behind Amherst’s 120.5 and Williams’s 169.
“In team-scoring meets you need everybody to place in every event,” Hastings said. “But [the women’s team was] still competitive considering we don’t even have anyone who does the 3000m steeplechase.”
As usual, Wesleyan was very strong in the throwing and jumping departments. On the men’s side, Anwell Lanfranco ’08, Sam Grover ’08, Derek Kuwahara ’09, Mike Moody ’10 and Tommie Lark ’11 combined for 10 top-three finishes in the eight throwing and jumping events. Grover had a huge day, bringing home titles in the long, high and triple jumps and adding a second-place finish in the 110m hurdles.
Saturday also saw the return of the Cardinals’ top javelin throwers, Moody and Fotinas Xenidis ’11, who both won their respective javelin throws. Fellow newcomers Sokki Chham ’11 and Kathryn Kulowski ’11 added three more top-three finishes to Xenidis’s javelin and discus titles to give the women a solid showing in the field.
On the track, the Cards had to battle the heat, but Blumstein pointed out that every team has to deal with the scorching heat, and not just Wesleyan.
Both Blumstein and Steph O’Brien ’08 were edged out in the final leg of their main events (5000m and 800m, respectively).
“It’s always disappointing when you do all the work and then get out-kicked,” Blumstein said.
However, Chris Foster ’09 reversed roles as he out-sprinted this fall’s regional cross-country champion in the final straightaway of the 1500m to take second place.
Wesleyan placed well in the short distance events, with Dan Manuyag ’10 and Lynn Edmonds ’11 each securing two top-three finishes apiece. Tameir Holder ’08 and Christina Barnett ’11 added top-three finishes in the 100m and 100m hurdles, respectively.
“On the whole the team ran well,” said Blumstein, who is looking forward to this Saturday for another shot at the 1500m. “I wish I could have that one back.”
The Cards head to the dreary innards of New York this weekend, where Hamilton is hosting the team-scored NESCAC championship meet.
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