By David Konowitch, news correspondent

The Northeastern track and field team won six individual events in its second-place finish at the Snowflake Classic hosted by Tufts University last Saturday.

Although snowfall and flurries were prevalent in this appropriately-named competition, the NU athletes adjusted and succeeded in their respective events.

“Our staff planned for bad weather, so we had people run off-events for training purposes in the track,” Director of Track and Field Cathrine Erickson said in an email to The News.

The men scored 100 points, earning the runner-up spot behind Tufts, which scored 110.5 points. The women, 96 points, also obtained the runner-up spot behind Tufts’ 146 points.

The competition mainly consisted of local Division III schools, but also included Harvard University and Boston University.

“It is important to compete against all athletes in the New England area,” Erickson said.

Both the men and women had three winners, along with numerous top-10 finishes.

The women opened scoring in the 400-meter dash as freshman sprinter Audrey Weyand took sixth place with a time of 1:03.13.

Sophomore distance runner Rosalie Caracciolo added a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter run, with a time of 2:34.66.

Redshirt senior distance runner Danielle Klein opened up her season with a third-place finish in the 3000-meter run, crossing the line at 10:38.34.

The Huskies first winner came in the 400-meter hurdles, where junior sprinter Camille Gooden took the top spot at 1:09.33. Teammate sophomore hurdler Betsy Garnick finished shortly after at 1:12.02, good for fourth place.

The Huskies boasted most of their success in the field events, especially the throws. The conditions did not stop junior thrower Jenna Serunian from a dominant performance in the shot put, where she won the event with a personal best throw of 13.12 meters. Junior Alexandra Rose and freshman Zoe Taitel placed third and fourth, tossing 11.90 and 11.78 meters, respectively.

Rose heaved the hammer throw 46.77 meters for first place.

Erickson was proud of the way the throwers competed in the poor conditions, obtaining 31 points in only two events.

“Jenna had a personal best in the shot put and we are thrilled she was able to do that today in the snowy conditions,” Erickson said.

The Huskies also gained 14 points in the long jump, where freshman sprinter Jessica Scott placed second leaping 5.13 meters. Teammates freshman jumper Kelsey Sullivan and Garnick added fourth- and eighth-place finishes, jumping 4.95 meters and 4.83 meters, respectively.

The men had a balanced approach, spreading their points in both track and field events.

Freshman hurdler Matthew Richards was the lone winner on the track, taking first place in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.25 seconds. His teammate, sophomore hurdler Connor McCarthy, placed fourth with a time of 16.19 seconds.

The Huskies also took two of the top-five spots in the 400-meter hurdles. Freshman hurdler Peter Katsarakes placed second with a time of 56.85 seconds, while junior hurdler Eric Benny placed fifth in 59.78 seconds.

Two distance runners excelled through the snowy conditions for the Huskies. Freshman Adrian Amaya opened his season with a third-place finish in the 3000-meter run, with a time of 9:07.72, while sophomore David McDonald also added a third-place finish, completing the 1500-meter run in 4:04.98.

The top performance of the weekend for NU came in the hammer throw, where five Huskies amassed 29 points in the event.

Redshirt senior thrower James Hall coasted to victory, with a toss of 55.94 meters. Freshman thrower Connor Fugere followed in third, tossing 51.69 meters. The top eight were rounded out by three Huskies who placed fifth, sixth and eighth.

Not to be outdone, the NU shot putters turned in a 23-point performance of their own. Freshman thrower Ryan Kim led the charge with a winning toss of 15.04 meters. Redshirt senior Kevin Rosenberg placed second at 14.81 meters and freshman Spencer McKeough took fourth at 13.82 meters.

“I am very happy with how our throwers opened up,” Erickson said. “They are a really strong group and will be a big part of our team successes this year and in the years to come.”

The team shifts its focus toward the AIC Yellow Jacket Invitational and a dual meet, hosted by the University of New Hampshire, both taking place Saturday in Durham.

Photo by Steve Lipofsky, courtesy Northeastern Athletics