Alexandra Morris broke the school record in the 400-meter dash and Sebastian Matt won the 5,000-meter run as the Middlebury track and field teams opened their annual spring trip to California in the PLNU Collegiate Invitational. The Panther women finished sixth out of 18 teams with 145 points, while the men were seventh of 21 with 164 points. Middlebury returns to action Saturday when they compete in the California Collegiate Invitational hosted by UC San Diego.
During the women's competition, Morris lowered the school record with a run of 57.06 for second place in the event, besting the record of 57.51 set by Juliet Ryan-Davis in 2013. Many additional top-10 finishes were recorded, including Lucy Lang who finished third in the 800-meter run (2:12.49), winning her section by nearly six seconds. Paige Fernandez was third in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.38), while Jackie Kearney sixth (1:07.95).
Abigail Nadler raced to the line in fifth during the 1,500-meter run (4:33.87), while Lauren Bougioukas was 10th (4:44.43).The 4x400-meter relay of Kearney, Halle Gustafson, Fernandez and Kate McCluskey crossed the line for third in 4:01.62.
Off the track, Carly Andersen earned a runner-up finish in the javelin toss (136'1"), while Julia Lothrop placed ninth (108'4"). Maddie Pronovost was seventh in the long jump (17'2") and Kristin Kimble cleared the bar with a height of 4'11.75, good for 10th.
On the men's side, Matt claimed the event title in the 5,000-meter run (14:51.30), while Sam Klockenkemper was right behind in second (14:55.38). Teammate Brendan Wood crossed the line with a ninth-place effort (15:13.91). A few events earlier, Jonathan Perlman finished second in the 1,500-meter run (3:58.64), while Connor Evans was eighth (4:02.34).
Other top-10 finishes were posted by Kevin Serrao in the 800-meter run (fourth, 1:53.26), Jimmy Martinez during the 200-meter dash (sixth, 22.02) and Alex Nichols in the 400-meter run (seventh, 48.85).
The 4x400-meter relay of Martinez, Nichols, Brandon Cushman and James Mulliken was fourth with a time of 3:20.82.
The Panther men tallied some solid efforts during the field events, including John Natalone with a fourth-place leap over the bar of 14'9.5" in the pole vault, while Alfred Hurley was seventh in the javelin toss (170'10").
Nathaniel Durfee was eighth in the long jump (19'4"), Brenden Edwards ended ninth in the discus throw (131'9"), while Tyler Chaisson was 10th in the shot put (43'6").
