The Middlebury College track and field teams opened the season with their annual spring break trip to San Diego. The Panthers competed in two meets in California, both taking place at Pt. Loma University.
Middlebury enjoyed quite a bit of success in the opening meet, with two women winning events. First-year athlete Sophia Spring (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.) was a victor in the 1500 (4:48.91), while classmate Hannah Meier (Charlotte, Vt.) captured the 5000 (18:27.99). Junior Jen Katz (Winchester, Mass.) placed second in the 100 (13.06) and fourth in the 200 (26.66), while senior Jennifer Currie (Milton, Vt.) turned in a third place finish with a toss of 132’4” in the hammer. Junior Alexandra Krieg (Wellesley, Mass.) placed second for Middlebury in the 1500 (4:50.14), while rookie Grace Close (Fox Point, Wis.) came in fourth in the 400 (1:01.66). Also placing fourth for the women were senior Elise McNiff (Gloucester, Mass.) in the javelin (104’), juniors Emily Jacobs (Greene, Maine) in the 5000 (18:52.78) and Emer Feighery (Westborough, Mass.) in the pole vault (9’8”) and first-year athlete Christina Kunycky (Marlborough, Mass.) in the 800 (2:23.01).
On the men’s side, senior Jimmy Butcher (Garden City, N.J.) turned in the top performance, placing second in the 5000 (15:06.59). First-year athlete Nicholas Plugis (Bedford, Mass.) came in sixth in the javelin (156’11”), senior Ian O’Reilly (Meriden, N.H.) was seventh in the 800 (1:57.05), while rookie Adam Dede (West Chester, Ohio) placed seventh in the pole vault (13’1.5”).
The following Saturday, the Panthers were in action again with several teams competing at Pt. Loma. Meier finished second in the 5000 (18:27.24), sophomore Laura Dalton (Simsbury, Conn.) came in third in the 400 hurdles (1:05.31), while junior Kelley Coughlan (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) finished third in the triple jump (34’7”). Jacobs finished fourth in the 5000 (18:39.32), sophomore Anjuli Demers (Dracut, Mass.) did the same in the 400 (59.44), while Spring (1500-4:50.64) and Currie (hammer-134’5”0) each finished sixth.
O’Reilly paced the men with a third place finish in the 800 (1:56.40), while sophomore Robby Athan (Wayland, Mass.) placed ninth in the long jump (20’3.5”).