With alumni, friends, and family watching, the Men and Women’s Track and Field teams competed this past Saturday at home. The Reggie Poyau Memorial Meet consisted of 11 teams on the Men’s side of the competition and 14 Women’s squads, and the Judges were able to register some strong individual performance, to come out high in the standings.
. The Women were able to finish in first, winning the meet with a total score of 163.5 points, placing them well above runner-up Bowdoin. The Men, meanwhile, finished fourth with a score of 103.33 points, less than half a point shy of third place, and five points out of second.
The Women’s team was able to win eight of the 19 scoring events at the meet. They dominated the sprints, as Olivia Alford ‘08 won the 400 meter run and the 200 meter dash. Sandra Canuto ’08 won the 55 meter dash while Michelle Gellman ’11 placed second.
The team similarly dominated the jumps as Ali Sax ’09 took both the long jump and triple jump events. Sax was also able to place third in the hurdles, adding to the team score, while Suzanne Bernier ’10 won the high jump.
The Women were also put on the map in the distance events by Marie Lemay ’11 who came in first after 15 times around the oval in the 3k run.
The Men put points on the board in the sprints with the first place finish of Patrick Gregoire ’09 in the 55 meter dash. Ned Crowley ’10 also helped out the final team score by taking second in the 200 meter run.
The Judges were also strong on the distance side of the meet, taking second and third place in the mile. Co-captain Dan Suher ‘08 came in second in the 1000 meter run with a time of just over two and a half minutes, with teammate Matt Jennings ’09 right at his back. The Men also had a third place finish in the 4 by 400 meter relay and won the 4 by 800 meter event.
The Women had optimistic responses about the meet. “I am very happy with how our home meet went,” said Co-Captain Katy Agule ‘09. “We aren’t a very big team, but I think our depth really showed itself. Our meet this Friday at BU will be a good test, especially since the competition will be a lot stronger.”
“The meet went pretty well for me,” added Sax. “It was only a little hectic at one point when I had to long jump and hurdle at the same time.”
Sax also looked to the future and believes that later victories lie in the distance. “It’s the beginning of the season and we’ve got the rest of the semester to get better,” she said.
The Men were similarly happy with their recent competition. “It is a great sign for the rest of the season,” said Suher. “There are a lot of good runners on this team, and there is a lot of depth across the board which will come in handy as the season goes on.”
Suher was also excited for the team’s next meet at BU. “Next week we are at BU at the Terrier Classic on a banked track and against competition ranging from Division III to the pros…everyone should be running their normal events and some very fast times should be produced in the first real test of the season.”
The alumni relays were also run at the end of the meet which provided a spectacular show for all. In a pitched match, the relay team driven by All-American Ryan Parker ’06 took the day. This recent competition at home was a good merger of both runners from the past and excellent performances from the Judges of the present.
