Men Win Sixth New England Division III Title in a Row
Women Finish a Close Second
May 4, 2019
In the end, the Men's and Women 's Track & Field teams from MIT did what they were supposed to do at the New England Division III Championship, but they did it a bit better. The men, seeded for 122 points, scored 139.5, 50 points more than runner-up Tufts. The women, seeded to finish second with 77 points, scored a surprising 101.5, falling just 9.5 short of heavily favored Williams College.
Despite the rain on Friday, overall the weather was nice with 60-65 degree temperatures both days with very little wind for a change. In an age when athletes tend to be much more focused on personal bests or qualifying for the next championship, the rain tends to affect them. Whereas, MIT, focused more on competing, took advantage of the relatively poor competition to score major points on Friday. Seeded for 24 points on Friday in the 10K, Hammer, Javelin and Long Jump, the men scored 44 points.
In the Long Jump, Yorai Shaoul '21 jumped 23-9 1/2 to easily win the event, and Alec Reduker '20, who had only jumped once before ever, and that was three weeks ago, added to his legend by going 23-0 1/2 for second place, giving his team three points more than they were seeded.
In the throws, Albert Menio '20 stepped up big in the Hammer, throwing a personal best of 161-1 to place sixth after not being seeded to score at all. Gabe Madonna '20 and Cooper Driscoll '22 both made the finals of the Javelin with Madonna placing as he was seeded, fourth with a throw of 179-4.
Not having run a 10K all year before last week, the trio of Josh Rosenkranz '19, Finn Jacobson-Schulte '21 and Josh Derrick '20 qualified with last week's effort. Racing 10K's in back to back weeks is not usually recommended, particularly with mileage as low as Rosenkranz and Derrick were putting in. However, it was assumed they had run well within their abilities the week before and therefore had plenty left in the tank. With a relatively weak field, it was assumed no one would be capable of running sub 32:00 other than the MIT runners. At the gun, Trevor Wysong of Bridgewater State College, a pretty good runner in the past who had not run fast this season, ran a 70 first 400, opening up a pretty good gap. MIT runners were coached to run 77-78 pace for the first three or four miles if there was no one willing to do so. Two other runners had good out with Wysong, but it was clear they were coming back. Would Wysong hold it was the question. After three successive 5:08 1600's, the three MIT runners started to go after the leader, who by that time was 23 seconds up. Rosenkranz led the attack with Jacobson right on him. Derrick fell off after the 5:03 fourth 1600, but not too much. Their fifth 1600 went down to 5:01 as they were closing the gap and although Derrick was now 11 seconds back, he was still in fifth place. Rosenkranz and Jacobson were not able to close the gap enough, falling five seconds short as Rosenkranz finished second in 31:40.73 and Jacobson third in 31:42.51. Derrick remained in fifth in 32:05.09. After being seeded for one point the 18 point performance gave the Engineers a nice advantage going into day two.
On Saturday the Engineers were dealt the blow that Aidan Gilson '19, the top seed in the 3K Steeplechase, could not run due to an achilles injury. With no 4x100 and no one in the Steeplechase or 1500 Tech had to sit on their 44 points until the 110HH. In the meantime, the Shot Put was underway, an event where MIT could do some damage. The freshmen really stepped up. Seeded for 10 points the freshmen came through with 13 points. Will Woltmann '22, coming off a freak injury, put it together, earning third place with a throw of 49-11 1/4. Ryan Nall '22 had a huge personal best of 48-4 1/4 to place fourth and Nathan Basinger '22 added to last week's performance by placing seventh at 46-6 3/4.
Joa Kennedy '21, over his ankle sprain from two weeks ago, ran an impressive personal best of 15.10 on Friday to advance to the finals in the 110 HH. In the final, he was less than perfect, but outstanding enough to place fifth in 15.43 after not being seeded to score.
The points kept piling up for Tech as they scored 10 in the 400 after being seeded for only five. Benton Wilson '21 ran a personal best of 48.62 to secure third place and Nick Duchatellier '22 also delivered a PR of 49.54 for fifth place.
In the field events the jumpers were adding their own points. Seeded for 15 points in the High Jump they delivered 18.5. Alec Reduker '20, who won the event when he cleared 6-8, went for 7-1, but was unable to clear the height. Chris Washington '20 placed fourth at 6-6 and Caleb Harris '22 cleared 6-4 to tie for fifth. Shaoul added his second victory, this one in the Triple Jump. His best mark was 49-5 1/2, getting his team the 10 points for which he was seeded.
Basinger and Menio again delivered for the throwers when they placed fourth and sixth respectively in the Discus. Basinger threw a 146-1 PR to earn fourth and Menio threw 144-5.
Continuing to out perform their seeds, Wilson came back in the 200, earning a victory in a best of 21.56 after only being seeded for eight points. This puts him at 21st in the country for Division III, not quite good enough to earn a trip to Nationals. Not seeded to score, Andrew Shao '22 brought home a seventh place for two points in the 400IH, running a personal best 56.75.
All good things must end, so did outperforming their seeds. In the Pole Vault, seeded for 12, the Engineers delivered seven. Liam Ackerman '21 placed fourth at 14-7 1/2 and Max Hardy '21, not seeded to score, had a great day to deliver seventh place, also at 14-7 1/2. This trend continued in the 5K. Steven Goldy '20 was not supposed to score, but delivered a personal best 15:05.17, running an exceptional race to place fifth. Andrew Mah '22, feeling the effects of a long year, lost focus in the latter stages of the race, falling back to eighth place in 15:11.89. Seeded for eight Tech only managed five points.
MIT finished their scoring in the 4x800 relay. Although seeded to score well, MIT was using different personnel than when they ran their seed time, so place was going to be unpredictable. Aiden Foucault-Etheridge '22, dealing with a leg injury, had missed placing in the 800 out of the slow section by one place with a 1:54.93. However, he was able to deliver a 1:58.5 leadoff leg as his knee was beginning to bother him. Ellery Rajagopal '21 really delivered, bringing the baton around in 1:57.8, a big personal best to move the team up to a three-way tie for third. Matt Schofield '22 added a 1:57.2 huge PR to keep the team in the same spot, but closer to second place. Simon Alford '20, a proven excellent anchor leg, put down a very strong 1:55.8 to bring the team to second place for a cumulative time of 7:49.48.
The women simply did not have enough weapons with so many illnesses and injuries happening this year. However, those who did compete did amazingly well. MIT was not supposed to score any points on Friday, yet they came away with 11. In the Long Jump, despite a painful back, Yilinn Yang '22 delivered a sixth place performance at a season best 17-8. Liana Reilly '21 added a surprise point for eighth place, jumping 17-0.
Ignoring the wet circle, Folusho Jebutu '20 and Elise McCormack-Kuhman '20 finished fifth and sixth respectively in the Hammer. Jebutu earned a fifth with a throw of 151-0 and McCormack-Kuhman was awarded sixth with her throw of 148-7.
This boost gave the women a little more hope of possibly catching Williams. Saturday started with the 10 points for which Jenna Melanson '20 was seeded in the 3K Steeplechase. The junior took the lead at the start and held it to the finish in 10:56.47.
In the 1500, MIT was again not seeded to score points. However, Margaret Trautner '20 had other plans. She ran a very smart race after the field came through the 400 in 79, not panicing she moved up gradually. She ran 72, 71 and struggled a bit in the homestretch, but held onto third place in 4:38.23
With no one in the 100HH or 400, MIT then turned to Michelle Menkiti '20 in the 100. Seeded for one point, Menkiti brought home three, placing sixth in a season best 12.36.
In the High Jump, Reilly returned to competition to tie for fifth place at 5-2 1/4, 1/2 of a point more than she was seeded.
Bailey Tregoning '19 and Trautner were seeded for 16 points in the 800, which was unlikely with Trautner having fatigue from the 1500. Both ran very smart races, letting the pace go out fast while they were satisfied in the back, coming through the 400 in 66.8. Tregoning probably waited a little too long to move up towards the front as she was unable to catch the leader, settling for second place with a season best 2:11.29, negatively splitting the race. Trautner came through big with a 2:13.63 season best for fifth place.
Menkiti was up again, this time in the 200. She was not seeded to score, but competed well, charging hard in the final 50 to secure fourth place in a season best 25.36.
While MIT was doing incredibly well, Williams was also performing well, yet losing ground due to some scratches. Originally seeded at 45 points more than MIT, the Engineers were knocking that difference down to a point that a strong finish may bring home their seventh consecutive NED3 outdoor title.
Not seeded to score in the Discus, Jebutu continued to compete at her best. She threw a season best 123-7 to place fourth, giving Tech five more points.
Although they were seeded for 19 points in the Triple Jump, that was not realistic, particularly with Yang's back hurting her. Elena Andree '22, jumping over 38' for the first time last week, repeated that performance, jumping 38-2 for third place. Lucy Lee '21 and Elizabeth Weeks '21 added a sixth and seventh at 37-5 3/4 and 37-4 1/2 respectively, netting 11 points.
Katie Collins '21, seeded first in the 5K, did not disappoint. Going out in 5:22, the sophomore pulled away from the field right at the start. She slowed a bit for a 5:29 second 1600, but continued to open up her lead. She fatigued in the final 1600, running alone, but finished in first in 17:18.59.
At this point, MIT was 15.5 points behind Williams and ready to give it everything to close the gap. In the 4x800 the Engineers were hoping for a victory and that Williams would not score. After a solid lead-off of 2:19.4 by Marissa McPhillips '20, Skylar Brooks '20 got the baton in second and looked good at the beginning, splitting 69 even though she had lost two places. However, fatigue set in and the junior could only manage a 2:30, dropping the team to sixth place when she handed off to a fatigued Trautner. Trautner fought with everything she had, delivering a 2:16.6 to move the team up to fourth. Tregoning pulled the team up to third with a 2:14.5, too far out of second to be possible. Williams managed a seventh, so the lead was now 11.5.
Williams was favored to win the 4x400 and MIT was not seeded to score. Using every available body, MIT put together a competitive relay team, but Menkiti would be running her first ever competitive 400. Claire Melvin '22, having run the 400IH in 65.82 earlier in the meet, led off with a 60.3. Sarah Ishamuddin '21 delivered a 59.5 leg and Kristen Frombach '19 a 59.7. Menkiti anchored the team to a seventh place finish with a 58.5 for a total time of 3:58.17. Unfortunately, Williams delivered the win to bring the total difference to 19.5.
Now it was only the Pole Vault remaining. It would be possible for the Engineers to catch their rival, but would require near perfection on their part as well as the Williams pole vaulters failing to deliver. When the dust settled, Kari Stromhaug '19 won the event at a season best height of 12-4 3/4. Lila Wine '21 cleared a personal best 11-6 1/4 for fifth place. Makenzie Patarino '19, completing her comeback from a serious shoulder injury, brought home a seventh place finish with a 11-0 1/4 performance. Anais Marenco '22 placed eighth at 11-0 1/4 to give MIT 16 points, not enough even if Williams did not score. Williams did score, tying for second for seven points and the eventual 9.5 point separation.
The next stop on the competition schedule will be the NEICAAA Championship, an all division championship hosted by Southern Connecticut State University next Friday and Saturday.
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