After taking six of the top seven places in the 3,000-meter event last weekend, the men’s track team scored 81 points, good for fourth of 14 teams at the Smith Invitational. The women’s team also turned in some strong performances, led by Hannah Hastings ’08 in the mile.
The second to last event of the meet, the 3k pitted six of the distance squad’s top guys against each other. Jon King ’07 took the lead from the gun, but was challenged by Jonah Blumstein ’09 in the last few laps. With a 31-second final lap, King held off Blumstein’s late charge, as they ran 8:54 and 8:56 to finish first and second.
“I feel like I’m finally getting some wheels under me again,” Blumstein said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Mike Brady ’07 (9:00), Sean Watson ’08 (9:01), and Nick Holowka ’07 (9:02) were next across the line for the Cardinals, finishing third, fourth and fifth. Justin Spring ’10 was the final Wesleyan finisher, finishing seventh (9:12).
“I’ve been logging some solid miles lately and feeling good,” Spring said. “I’m sure once I get rid of my beard, I’ll run even faster. I’m starting to look like a bison.”
The 3k was just one of several events the distance squad put up points in. Dave Tassone ’08 and Fred Zenker ’09 finished third and fifth, respectively, in the 5k, the first event of the meet.
In the mile, Matt Shea ’08 (4:33) and Chris Foster ’09 (4:34) exchanged the lead a few times before Shea nipped Foster at the line. Henry Kaplan ’10 grabbed fifth place, with a 4:40 finish. Brad Litchfield ’09 also performed well, capturing a win in the 600-meter with a time of 1:27. Chris Coleman ’10 was eighth in 1:29.
Facing tough competition in the sprints, standout freshman Dan Manuyag placed eighth in the 55-meter dash, while Bo Jung ’10 finished eighth in the 55-meter hurdles.
Due to a number of injuries, the women’s team fielded only a small team for the meet but was bolstered by the return of Tameir Holder ’08, who placed fourth in the hotly competitive 55-meter dash.
The mile was also a strong event as Hastings placed third in (5:38), followed by Amanda Jacob ’10 in fifth (5:41). Megan Kretz ’07 and Sara Rosenberg ’10 also added points in the 5k, placing third and fifth respectively. Steph O’Brien continued to run strongly, placing third in the 600 (1:40).
In the end, Wesleyan scored 38 points, good for 11th of 16 teams, but the team was without distance stars Ellen Davis ’07 and Anna Schindler ’09.
“I hope to be back next week,” Schindler said. “My stress fracture has been acting up, but we’ll see how things work out.”
The Cardinals will split squads next weekend as half the team will travel to Boston for the Valentine’s Day Invite at B.U., while the rest will stay home to host the final regular season meet.
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