Men’s Track and Field Tallies Seven Victories Across Mangrum and PLNU Invitationals

3/23/2024 9:09:00 PM

Alec Gironda won the 10,000-meter at the Mangrum Invitational.

The Middlebury men's track and field team won seven events across the Mangrum Invitational and the Point Loma Nazarene (PLNU) Track and Field Invitationals this weekend.

HIGHLIGHTS AT MANGRUM INVITATIONAL (FRIDAY)

Alec Gironda won the 10,000 meters with a clocking of 30:32.53. Harry Griff earned a top-10 finish, placing ninth with a time of 32:34.60.
Dave Filias was crowned the champion of the hammer throw. The Panther launched the implement 57.40m. James Hetherington (48.46m) and Dan Urchuk (47.71m) also finished in the top 10, placing eighth and 10th, respectively.
Zach Utz secured a top-five finish in the 800, crossing the finish line in fifth place with a time of 1:55.97.
In the 3,000 steeplechase, a pair of Panthers placed in the top 20. Will Lavey finished 17th (9:43.62), while Gabe Watson was one spot behind (9:44.69).

HIGHLIGHTS AT PLNU TRACK & FIELD INVITATIONAL (SATURDAY)

On Saturday, Caleb Smith claimed the top spot in the javelin, winning the event with a toss of 50.11m, nearly three meters further than second place. Benjamin Martin earned the bronze with a distance of 45.06m.
The Panthers took the top four spots in the long jump. Smith won his second event of the day, leaping 6.53m, while Aiden Tam was the runner-up (6.34m), Sam McGarrahan (6.31m) was third and Tony Wang (6.10m) was fourth.
Middlebury also dominated the shot put, securing the top five places. Filias won his second event of the weekend with a toss of 14.73m. Logan Cosgrove (13.62m) and Urchuk (13.00m) rounded out the top three, respectively, while Samuel Maxwell (11.62m) and James Flaumenhaft (11.34m) were fourth and fifth.
In the discus, Urchuk finished first, launching the implement 41.16m. Cosgrove tallied his second runner-up showing of the day with a distance of 40.67m, while Maxwell earned the bronze (40.47m).
Owen Johnson broke the tape in the 800 with a clocking of 1:58.94.
In the pole vault, Joel Kofman tied for the top spot, clearing the bar at 4.40m. Henry Ericson finished one spot behind his teammate in third (4.25m).
Sam Opawuyi was the runner-up in the triple jump with a leap of 12.76m.
Xander Swann crossed the line second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.30, while Parker Loupessis finished third, stopping the clock in 57.81.
McGarrahan placed fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.86m.
In the 4x100 relay, the quartet of Marco Motroni, Tam, Swann and Smith raced to a third-place finish, stopping the clock in 42.74.
A pair of Panthers secured spots in the top five in the 1,500. Raymond Pavlik finished fourth, crossing the finish line in 4:03.60. Utz was one spot behind his teammate with a time of 4:05.78.
In the 110 hurdles, Tam continued his strong day, crossing the line in second (15.09), while Jefferson Hill placed third (15.43). Smith rounded out the top five, crossing the finish line in 16.25.

NOTES

Johnson's win was the first of his career.
Numerous Panthers set personal bests during the weekend.
Both meets featured schools from all three NCAA divisions as well as NAIA institutions.

Middlebury is idle until Saturday, April 6 when it competes at the Amherst Spring Fling.

Print Friendly Version