By Katie Zigelman, News Staff
Freshman James Hall and sophomore Rachel Taback led their teams in throwing events at the Husky Spring Open this past Saturday.
Hall threw the hammer 179 feet, 8 inches for the win, followed by teammates senior Alex Iannetta and freshman Max Milder who finished second and fourth, respectively. Iannetta threw the hammer 176 feet, 4 inches and Milder 170 feet, 10 inches.
“It was my first win in college season,” Hall said. “I beat a lot of other seniors, which was cool.”
Senior Patrick Jablonski came in second in the discus throw with a distance of 149 feet, 2 inches and third in the shot put with a distance of 49 feet, 1 inch. Freshman Christopher Reider closed out the throwing events for the men’s team with a third-place finish of 189 feet, 2 inches in the javelin throw.
Senior Brian Racca was the second athlete to bring in a victory for the men’s team with a jump of 48 feet in the triple-jump event.
Sophomore Tejorn Davis came in third in the same event with a jump of 43 feet, 3.25 inches.
Senior Brendan Bergson had the final victory for the men’s team with a jump of 21 feet, 8 inches in the long jump. He was just coming off of an injury at this meet.
Seniors Brian Daly and Adrian Li both came in second in their events; Daly jumped 13 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault and Li jumped 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump. Freshman Andrew Snyder ran the 800-meter run in 2:01.46 for a third-place finish.
Head coach Sherman Hart was pleased with the men’s performance, especially in the throwing events, and Hall also thought that the team did well.
Taback won the discus throw (127 feet, 4 inches) and came in fourth place in both the hammer throw (165 feet, 7 inches) and shot put (36 feet, 2.25 feet).
“Rachel [Taback] has been the most pleasant surprise of all this year,” Hart said. “She has really stepped up and come into her own.”
Rookie Allyson Crooke also won the long jump. She jumped 17 feet, 0.75 inches for the victory.
The women’s team came in second place in four individual events: sophomore Julia Westover in the hammer throw (165 feet, 7 inches), freshman Georgia Pingue in the triple jump (36 feet, 3.5 inches), senior Seri Gordon in the 400-meter dash (1:00.23) and freshman Kate Madigan in the 100-meter hurdles (16.56).
The team’s 4×100 meter relay team also came in second place with a time of 51.81.
Many of the athletes who competed in the ECAC and IC4A championship indoor meets sat this one out. The intention behind this was to give those athletes a rest and let the others have a chance to shine.
“It was nice to see the other athletes step up,” Hart said.
This was the first home meet for the track and field team in the outdoor season. Hall was excited to get outside.
“I love outdoor way more,” Hall said. “In indoor I have to do the weight throw which is just heavy. The hammer throw is my event and it has much more technique.”
The weather had a big impact on this meet, with the temperature hovering around 50 degrees.
“It was really cold,” Hart said. “We survived in one piece with no injuries which was a major intention.”
The team travels next to Tallahasse, Fla., for the Florida State Relays March 25.
“It will be nice to not need to warm up for an hour before and wear a hundred layers of clothes,” Taback said.
