Track Teams Excel at Swanson

The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the annual Swanson Invitational at home this weekend. The meet is named after Elmer Swanson, the former long-time track and cross-country coach. Swanson came to Wesleyan in 1963 and coached for more than 35 years, compiling a remarkable record of 144-42-4. This year, Wes track and field did him proud by excelling in many of the events. The meet does not have team scoring, but there were many top finishes for the Cardinals.  With 11 teams in attendance, the Wes men and women showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the track and field world.

On the women’s side, there were several dominant running performances. The Cardinals took control of the 800-meter race, placing four of the top five finishers out of 17 competitors. Co-captain Jessica Levin ’11, who set a personal record of 2:23.87, came in first, followed closely by Ceili Brennan ’13 (2:24.96) and Claire Conway ’14 (2:29.14), with Dessie Stefanova ’12 (2:34.17) coming in fifth.  The Wes women also set the pace for the 3k, where four Cardinals swept the event. Leading the pack were Julia Mark ’13 (10:38.19) and Hannah Zimmerman ’13 (10:40.26), with Nellie Triedman ’13 (10:45.26) and Libby Lazare ’14 (10:48.73) close behind. The Wes relay team of Lia Monti ’13, Julia Frieze ‘12, Sydney Morgan ’14 and Alissa Goldberg ’14 provided the squad with a second-place performance in the 4x400m relay.

“I’m very proud of the way the women’s distance crew has regrouped and progressed since last fall,” Levin said.

Sierra Livious ’14 had another outstanding performance in the shot put to win the event at 38-10-1/2. She stands just 11 inches shy of the 27-year-old school record of 39-9 1/2 set in 1984.  Co-captain Kathryn Kulowski ’11 placed second in both the high jump and the 100-meter dash.

“The meet was a great showing by the team,” Kulowski said.  “Everyone is starting to focus on their events in preparation for Little Threes and NESCACs. It’s great to see the team competing well and ready to put up a solid performances at the bigger meets to come!”

The men’s team came through with 12 top-five finishes over the 19 events. Austin Cotant ’13 finished first in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:59.39, and following right behind was quad-captain Matt Katz ’11 (1:59.63). The Wes men dominated the 1500-meter run where they swept the top three places. Sam Roth ’13 placed first (4:07.37), followed by Seth Hafferkamp ’12 (4:04.74) and Zak Malik  ’14 (4:10.36).  Ernest Wingate ’14 came in second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.55) and third in the 400-meter hurdles (56.76).   Rounding out the team’s top finishes were Alex Iwamoto ’12, who took second in the triple jump (13.52m), and Julian Applebaum ’13, who placed second in the 3k  (9:04.58).

“I feel like the team is making great strides this spring,” Katz said afterward.

Ahead for the Cardinals is the Solomon Invitational at Northeastern Saturday, April 16.