After two days of fierce competition, both the men’s and the women’s track and field teams ran away with the Centennial Conference title last weekend. While the men would easily capture their fifth straight indoor Conference Championship, more than 80 points ahead of the runner-ups, the women squeaked by the Dickinson College Red Devils for their seventh straight Conference title.
The first day of competition was a breeze for the women, capturing titles in the 5,000-meter, the distance medley and the pentathlon to finish the day with a total of 70 team points.
Sophomore Felicia Koerner took the individual title in the 5K, nearly 40 seconds ahead of Dickinson’s second place finisher. Crossing the line in 17:06, Koerner broke the previous Centennial Conference meet record set in 2009 by more than 10 seconds.
Koerner was followed by her teammates, freshman Lauren Jacob and sophomore Natalia Laspada, who crossed the line in third and fourth, respectively. The Blue Jays earned a total of 24 points in the 5K race, placing six runners in the top 10.
The women’s distance medley also managed to capture the crown over the Haverford Fords. Junior Caroline Smith, sophomore Erin Brush, sophomore Hannah Miller and senior Tess Meehan crossed the line just two seconds ahead of the Fords to take the title in the event.
The Jays added another name to their first place finishes during the first day of competition, as sophomore Maya Hammonds earned the pentathlon title with 2902 points. Hammonds was accompanied by junior Kelsey Harper, who finished in second with 2853 points.
While the women finished the first day of competition with a solid lead, the men ended the day with just 20 team points to put them in second, seven points behind the Haverford College Fords.
On the track, the men took the title in the distance medley relay. The team of sophomore Scott Pourshalchi, senior Jesse Poore, freshman Brett Wolfinger and senior Tom Pavarini clocked a season best time of 10:06 in the event.
As the heptathlon competition got underway, three Blue Jays made promising first impressions on day one of the competition. Of the four events that took place Saturday, a Blue Jay topped the field in each one.
Senior Andrew Bartnett topped the field in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.28, followed closely by his teammate, sophomore Grant Mosser. Mosser took first place in the high jump, recording a height of 1.87 meters for a personal record.
Bartnett led the field again in the long jump, picking up more than 700 points. He was followed again by his teammate Mosser.
The last event of the day would be topped by another Jay, as junior Matt Fischetti led the field in the shot put. Fischetti posted a personal best in the event, throwing 11.72 meters. He was followed by his teammate, Bartnett, who took second in the event with a personal best throw of 11.67 meters.
After a long first day of competition, the Jays headed back to Collegeville, Pa. early the next morning to claim their spots atop the Conference. Ending Saturday with 70-point total, the women were primed to take home the crown.
Koerner had another excellent day on the track, leading the Jays in the mile. She took second place with a personal best time of 4:57, followed by senior Shannon Martello, who took third place, clocking a time of 5:05. The Blue Jays would have six women finish in the top 10.
Nevertheless, Koerner was not finished. She went on to add another individual victory, finishing first with a time of 9:58 in the 3,000-meter run. Subsequently, Koerner was named the USTFCCCA NCAA D-III Women’s Athlete of the Week; She holds the top 3,000 and 5,000-meter times in D-III and the sixth fastest mile time this season.
Of the three relays on Sunday, the Blue Jays claimed victory in two. In the 4x400-meter, Miller, junior Lauren Roberts, senior Amy Garcia and senior Lindsay Cheu led the field. Meanwhile, Martello, freshman Caelyn Reilly, Brush and Smith took the title in the 4x800-meter relay.
The women managed to edge out the Dickinson Red Devils 180-162 to take their seventh straight Centennial Conference Championship.
However, while the women were out in front to start the second day of competition, the men trailed behind the frontrunners by seven points going into day two. This was an especially uneasy position to be in after the previous indoor season when the Jays did not secure the Championship crown until the very last event of the day.
“We try to make sure everyone knows what’s at stake and that we can never let up,” Pavarini said. “We knew if everyone did their best and gave it 100 percent, we could come out with the win.”
This time, the Jays would not leave that kind of pressure to the end. They quickly jumped back into competition on Sunday, proving their depth by taking first place finishes in six different events.
Mosser was the only individual to take two titles for the Jays, claiming the victory in both the 60-meter hurdles and the Heptathlon. Mosser become the Jays’ first 60-meter hurdles champion and went on to set the meet record in the heptathlon with 4,710 points.
Meanwhile, Bartnett claimed his fourth Centennial Conference title in the pole vault, jumping nearly a foot higher than the second place finisher. On the track, sophomore Alex Mollick took the title in the 200-meter dash, followed by senior Jesse Poore, who took second for the Jays.
In the mile, the Jays had three men finishing in the top 10 to tally nine team points in the event. Hopkins was led by Pavarini, who crossed the line in fourth, clocking a time of 4:18. Pavarini was trailed closely by his sophomore teammates Scott Pourshalchi and Kevin Peters, who finished in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Overall, the men dominated the field, claiming their fifth straight Centennial Conference Championship 193.5-112 over second-place Haverford. The 81.5-point margin of victory is the largest in the Centennial Championships since 2005.
“Obviously it feels good afterwards to be able to win by a good amount,” Pavarini said. “But that is more a testament to the hard work and competitive spirit of our team than anything else.”
