The Panther men's and women's indoor track and field teams each had strong showings at the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday, recording numerous first-place finishes. The Panther women ran away with first place recording 268.5 points among the nine scoring schools, finishing well ahead of second place Rensselaer (153.5). Middlebury earned 151 points among the eight men's schools competing, with RPI (173.50) taking top honors. The Panthers return to action next weekend, competing in the New York City Division III Invitational.
Jonathan Fisher had a big meet on the men's side, winning the 400-meter dash and taking second in the high jump. He had a time of 52.99 in the 400, while clearing 6'2.75" in the high jump, finishing behind an unattached jumper.
The Panthers swept the top three spots in the 1,000 meters with Nathan Hill taking the top position in 2:29.13. Will Meyer took second in 2:34.37, while Sawyer Tadano was third in 2:36.58. The hosts finished one-two in the 800 meters, as Liam Hoagland (2:00.58) was first and Quinlan McGaugh (2:01.16) was second. The distance medley relay team of Hoagland, Meyer, Tadano and McGaugh combined for a top time of 10:41.21.
Justin Moran added a second-place effort in the long jump with a distance of 20'6.25" and Will Behm was the runner up in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 13'5.25".
On the women's side, Middlebury racked up 12 first-place finishes in 19 overall events. In the shorter events, Gretchen McGrath (26.61) won the 200 meters with Julia Munz (1:01.03) taking top honors in the 400. Nicole Johnson boasted a winning time of 2:21.51 in the 800 meters, Anna Willig won the 1,000 in 3:03.87, while Cassie Kearney was first in the mile with a time of 5:11.88. Middlebury also excelled in the distance events, as Tasha Greene (10:23.21) won the 3,000 meters and Talia Ruxin (18:31.30) crossed the finish line first in the 5,000.
The Panthers also swept the event's three relays, taking top honors in the 4x200, 4x400 and the distance medley relay.
In the field events, Cady Barns won the triple jump with a distance of 34'11.25" and Grace Desmond was victorious in the long jump with a leap of 16'6".
