A deep field of competitors could not stop several Bears from shining bright this weekend, as the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational. The Invitational is one of the largest meets in the nation and includes a mixture of collegiate and post-collegiate athletes.
Bruno had a multitude of athletes post top-20 finishes and extend personal records. For the men, numerous runners posted strong showings in the 800-meter race in a field of 233. Ned Willig ’16 continued his streak of top-10 performances with a time of 1 minute, 50.04 seconds in the 800, good for a 10th-place finish and a new personal best. Willig’s time ranks him third all-time at Brown and 35th in the NCAA this year. Henry Tufnell ’15 and Matt Bevil ’14 finished 12th and 14th with times of 1:50.29 and 1:50.41, respectively. These showings move them to fourth and fifth place all-time in Brown history and 40th and 43rd in the country this year. The trio of Willig, Tufnell and Bevil finished as the top three collegiate performers in the race.
Three other runners set personal records in the 800: Reuben Feinman ’15 (1:53.28), Will Conway ’15 (1:54.48) and Christian Bermel ’16 (1:55.96).
Director of Track and Field Tim Springfield said he was “happy to see Tufnell get back to being aggressive.”
“It was also very encouraging to see our depth at 800 meters improve,” he added.
Some long-distance runners also turned in quality performances. Jordan Mann ’15 placed 16th in the 3,000-meter race, setting a personal record of 8:14.80. In the 5,000-meter race, Jeff Bush ’14 crossed the finish line in eighth place with a time of 14:20.95, a personal best and good for the eighth-fastest all-time mark at Brown. Mark McGurrin ’15 also improved his personal record in the 5,000 to a time of 14:28.58.
The men also had strong outings in the field events. In the men’s long jump, Evan Weinstock ’14, Peter Rhodes ’15 and A.J. Anderson ’15, a Herald staff writer, finished eighth, 11th and 12th, respectively, with jumps of 6.84, 6.69 and 6.61 meters. In the men’s shot put, Matthew O’Hara ’16 and Aaron Comery ’17 came in 18th and 19th with throws of 14.46 and 14.42 meters.
The women posted a number of personal records and displays of excellence. In the 800, Sasha Teninty ’14 set a new personal record time of 2:10.65, good for 15th place. Taylor Worthy ’17 and Lucy Van Kleunen ’17 also lowered their personal bests to 2:13.63 and 2:14.94, respectively.
In the one-mile race, Kate DeSimone ’14, a former Herald senior staff writer, finished in 13th with a new personal milestone of 4:49.45. Two competitors in the 3,000, Leah Eickhoff ’15 and Kat Grimes ’14, followed the trend of besting personal feats with times of 9:52.38 and 9:59.17. The Bears placed second in the distance medley relay with a time of 11:49.98, secured by DeSimone, Worthy, Van Kleunen and Alexandra Stanton ’15.
Springfield commended the athletes for their efforts. “We had some strong performances from our middle- and long-distance groups for both men and women this weekend. That will be crucial when we put our (Ivy League Heptagonal Championship) relays together,” he said. “The 3K and 5K runners also did good work. They’re coming off a hard training cycle, so it was gratifying to see their hard work rewarded with some significant” personal records.
Bruno hopes to carry this momentum into next weekend when the teams host the Brown Invitational.
ADVERTISEMENT
