By Madeline Sattler, News Correspondent
The men’s and women’s track and field teams out-ran, out-jumped and out-threw the competition at the last home meet of the 2012 season on Saturday at Solomon Track in Dedham as they combined for 34 medals.
“It was a very smooth meet,” assistant coach Tramaine Shaw said. “We had great weather and it was exciting to finish strong at home.”
Sophomore throwers Connor Ebbs, Max Milder and senior Patrick Jablonski all had personal bests in their events.
Ebbs finished third in the discus with a 44.58 meter toss while Milder’s 56.79 hammer throw also placed him third. Jablonski cleared 54.01 meters in the discus which earned him the gold medal and was also good for fifth-best throw in Northeastern history.
“We’re just trying to throw farther,” Ebbs said. “The goal for the season is always to just throw better and farther.”
Jablonski reached the podium a second time Saturday for his 15.68 meter throw in the shot put which earned him the bronze.
Other strong throwing performances came from sophomore Christopher Reider and junior Daniel Brooks. The athletes placed first and second respectively in a field of 14 javelin throwers. Reider’s throw cleared 57.27 meters while Brooks finished just behind his teammate at 52.42 meters.
The jumpers continued the Huskies strong showing, medaling in each event. Senior Andrew Staples tied for first in the high jump clearing 1.98 meters.
“I’ve been working on my approach at practice lately and just trying to stay in the right position at the bar,” Staples said. “[I’m working on] being patient to get over the higher heights.”
Sophomore jumper Jackson MacDonald won the long jump leaping 6.84 meters. Freshman jumper Jasper McCoy earned bronze in the triple jump with an average length of 13.85 meters in five jumps. Freshman Stefano Combi soared 3.81 meters to claim the runner-up position in the pole vault.
“People are just trying to perform right now,” Staples said. “We’re kind of getting ready for our conference championships, so this is kind of the last preparatory phases for that.”
On the track, senior distance runner Teddy Vrountas got the day started for the men winning the 10,000-meter run in 32:22.20. Sprinters senior Darius Velez and freshman Jared Lane also earned gold in the 100-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles respectively.
Sophomore Alex Shapiro sprinted to a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash crossing the line in 48.60 seconds. Shapiro, Lane, Velez and MacDonald combined to win the 4-by-100-meter relay in 42.28 seconds.
“It was more of a warm-up meet for them,” Shaw said. “But they were on good pace on Saturday.”
The women blew away the competition, medalling 20 times.
Senior sprinter Saleena Abdur Rashed blew away the competition in her final home meet. The Huskies’ captain earned gold in the 100-meter hurdles crossing the line in 14.19 seconds. She then took the silver in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.23 seconds.
“I’m getting ready for [Colonial Athletic Association Championships] in three weeks,” Abdur-Rashed said. “I’m a senior, so I just want to bring it home for the team.”
Freshman Monte Brathwaite and senior Christina Gallagher placed second and third for the 400-meter dash respectively. Senior sprinter Sarah Trotman took placed first out of 34 athletes in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.23 seconds. Sophomore sprinter Ashlee Pitts earned bronze in the 100-meter dash finishing in 12.47 seconds.
“Everybody is busting out good times and just getting ready for next week,” Abdur-Rashed said.
Pitts and Trotman combined with freshmen Jessica Dunnigan and Victoria Alexander to win the 4 by 400-meter relay in 3:59. Senior Annie Scully was the lone distance runner to medal in the 1,500-meter run where she earned the silver.
In the field, the pole vaulters swept the medals.
Junior Jillena Decarteret cleared 3.81 meters for a season-best. Teammates junior Lauren Bennett and freshman Dana Schweiger placed second and third, respectively.
Sophomore jumper Georgia Pingue earned a pair of golds in the long and triple jumps. The Cambridge native jumped a season-best 5.70 meters in the long jump and then leaped 11.46 meters in the triple jump.
“We had quite a few [personal records], especially our triple jumper Georgia jumped very well in the long jump,” Shaw said.
Dunnigan, sophomore Olivia Stevens, and senior Ida Chance also medalled in jumping events. Dunnigan placed third in the long jump clearing 5.38 meters. Stevens earned bronze in the triple jump with a 10.75 meter combination. Chance tied for first in her final high jump at the Huskies’ home track jumping 1.58 meters.
The throwers also medaled in multiple events.
Junior thrower Julia Westover threw for a personal best 54.21 meters in the hammer event. Her distance now holds the fifth-best throw in Northeastern history.
Junior thrower Rachel Taback earned a silver in the discus throw and a bronze in the shot put. Senior Christina Izzicupo finished second in the javelin throw with a 34.70 meter throw.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the competition next weekend,” Shaw said. “We’re focusing on championships.”
The Huskies will head to Princeton next weekend and then prepare for the CAA Championships on May 4.
