The track and field teams began their outdoor seasons Saturday as the men competed at the Spring Invite and the women at the All-Connecticut meet, both of which were hosted by the University of Connecticut. Though neither meet was scored, both teams turned in strong performances.
"It was very cold, and the women actually dealt with snow, so the running times were not awesome," said Michelle Eisenreich, director of men's and women's track and field. "But they did compete really well, so I was really excited about that."
Four women brought home individual titles and the women's team gave a solid effort overall, Eisenreich said. Coming off a dominant indoor season where she earned Second Team All-Ivy honors, Susan Scavone '12 won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.19 seconds. In a sweep of the hurdling events, Alex Stanton '15 won the 400-meter hurdles in 1 minute, 2 seconds.
The women were also strong off the track as Niina Al-Hassan '14 captured first place in the javelin throw with a heave of 137 feet, 10 inches. Jara Crear '12 leaped 18-2 1/2 in the long jump to win the event. Due to weather, the jumps were held inside.
The men did not claim any top spots at the meet.
"The men competed later, and it had stopped snowing by then," Eisenreich said. "But it was very cold for a track meet."
John Spooney '14, another recipient of indoor Second Team All-Ivy honors, finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.89 seconds. Also on the track, Colin Savage '14 completed the 800-meter run in 1:54, earning third place overall. In the 400 hurdles, Zach Keefer '13 captured a second-place finish in 55.39 seconds.
Overall, Eisenrich said she was pleased with both teams' performances considering the unfavorable conditions.
"I think it's very easy in those circumstances not to compete well because you have a ton of excuses to not perform well," she said.
Competing apart from the team over break, Evan Weinstock '14 finished twelfth in the decathlon at the Texas Relays hosted by the University of Texas at Austin. The decathlon combines 10 separate track and field events that range from the 100-to the 1500-meter run to the javelin. Weinstock earned 6,832 points, a personal best and the highest score.
