The Middlebury track and field teams took part Saturday in the Dick Farley Invitational hosted by Williams on the Lee Track. The meet featured teams from across the New England region and was non-scoring. The Panthers return to action next Saturday when they participate in the UAlbany Spring Classic.
In the women's competition, the Panthers recorded a total of four event victories. On the track, Natalie Cheung was victorious in the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.75, while Alexandra Morris was third in the event (27.12). Hannah Blackburn crossed the line with the quickest time in the 100-meter hurdles (15.21), just ahead of teammate Jackie Kearney (15.85).
Runner-up finishes also came from Paige Fernandez in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.98), Halle Gustafson in the 400-meter dash (1:01.13) and Lauren Bougioukas, who participated in the 800-meter run (2:21.42). The 4x400 relay of Morris, Kearney, Fernandez and Gustafson stopped the clock in a time of 4:16.95 and finished second.
Alison Maxwell was third in the 5000-meter run (17:45.94), while Erzie Nagy also crossed the line third in the 3000-meter steeplechase (11:24.52).
Off the track, Blackburn notched her second event win of the day as she leapt to a distance of 17'0" in the long jump competition. Devon Player hurled the javelin a winning distance of 130'6", while Carly Andersen was second (124'2"). Maddie Pronovost cleared the bar in the high jump at a height of 5'0.5" to finish third.
On the men's side, Middlebury took home three event wins. Jacob Fox was the winner in the 5,000-meter run (15:17.14), while teammate Kevin Wood was just seconds behind in the runner-up spot (15:21.34). The Panthers notched a pair of relay victories as the 4x100 team of Sam Rives, Jeremy Carter, Fritz Parker and Will Bain broke the tape with a winning time of 43.51, while the 4x400 quartet of Parker, Tyler Farrell, Carter and Alex Nichols also ran home in front of the rest of the field in 3:31.28.
Third-place performances were recorded by Kevin Serrao in the 800-meter run (1:57.20) and Farrell in the 400-meter hurdles (56.34).
In field events, Ian Riley finished second in the javelin throw (165'0"), while Jared Whitman was third in the pole vault competition (14'0").
