Matt Lanter | Student Life

The women’s track team took third place in the four team field at the Washington University Select meet.

Be it individual or team successes, the Washington University men’s and women’s track & field teams both had their share of victories this past weekend at the Washington University Select Meet at Bushyhead Track.

The men’s team took first place overall out of the four schools that participated. Meanwhile, four members of the women’s team met NCAA provisional qualifying times at the meet. The women’s team finished third out of four.

“It was great,” sophomore Dan Davis said. “Most of the meets we [participate in] aren’t this small, so it was nice to have a meet that keeps on moving through. All the teams we ran against were good teams.”

The men’s side, which defeated Illinois Wesleyan University, Greenville College and Wartburg College, was led by a strong effort from Davis, who won the 110-meter hurdles at a mark of 14.68 and the 400-meter hurdles at 54.78.

“It was good to hit that mark,” said Davis, who just missed his personal best of 14.61 from a week before. “Last week we had a pretty decent tailwind and this week we had a tiny headwind, so it’s nice to know I have that mark and now I can look to improve on it.”

Joining Davis was graduate student Pierre Hoppenot in the dual-winners category, as Hoppenot won the 100-meter dash at 11.01 seconds and the 200-meter at 22.67 seconds.

Other winners for the Bears on the men’s team included senior Keith England’s 51.78 meters in the javelin, freshman Tom Arnold’s 13.10 meters in the shot put, senior Matt Kruger’s 9:37.98 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and sophomore Matt Rickard’s 1:56.37 in the 800-meter run.

The highlight of the women’s side was in the 1,500-meter run, where three provisional qualifying times were met, including sophomore Liz Phillips’ school record at 4:33.08.

“[Getting the record was] the goal and the expectation, and going into this race, I was hoping that would be the outcome,” Phillips said, adding that the teams agreed beforehand to stack the 1,500 with some of their strongest runners to set up a competitive race.

Senior Molly Schlamb and junior Sangeeta Hardy also met the provisional times at respective marks of 4:35.01 and 4:37.35.

Elsewhere on the women’s team, senior Hana Damore took first in the hammer throw, with her 47.96 meters meeting another provisional mark for the Red and Green last weekend.

Junior Kelli Blake’s 2:18.53 earned first place in the 800-meter run, and senior Allison Lee took the pole vault at 2.74 meters.

Despite the team’s position in the final standings, the women had several top times and scores across the board in the meet. Given that they were facing the defending indoor track champions, Wartburg, and another perennial contender in Illinois Wesleyan, the women were happy with their results for the weekend.

“I think we definitely did very well given the circumstances,” Phillips said. “We had some people going for some national qualifying times and didn’t have our strongest lineup, and the focus was to get the best marks we could in certain areas.”

With this meet behind them, the Bears have one more meet next weekend before University Athletic Association Championships on the weekend of April 24-25. They will travel to Wheaton, Ill., next Saturday, April 17, for the Wheaton Twilight Meet.

“I think we’re in a great place,” Head Coach Jeff Stiles said. “All of the athletes are coming around. We’re doing great, jumping great, throwing great. We want to put our best foot forward.”

Student Life: Tell me about how the race went.
Molly Schlamb: The plan was for [junior] Kelli Blake to rabbit me through the first 800 [meters] of the 12 leg. She did an absolutely perfect job, and I couldn’t have done it without her. I handed off to Erica [after the 1200 meter leg], who busted out a great 4 leg. Geetz [Hardy] ran a great 8, and then Liz just rolled the mile. It was one of the most exciting races I’ve been a part of. The great thing about relays is that you all need each other, you all have to have a great day, and you all build off of each other’s momentum. Carrying the baton, it just becomes magic.

SL: Which is cooler: setting a school record or earning a trip to nationals?
Sangeeta Hardy: It’s a tough call. My freshman year I ran the DMR [distance medley relay] at indoor nationals, so I am beyond thrilled to be going back, this time a more experienced and hopefully faster runner. However, knowing that we have the school record, and a pretty fast one at that, gives me a sense of pride that will last a lot longer than a few days at nationals. It’s always fun looking back on records and seeing which ones you aspire to break. Now, Molly, Erica, Liz and I get to be that record that future Wash. U. runners will be aspiring to break.

SL: How much is being part of a team, in itself, and knowing you have three other teammates counting on you a motivation factor?
Erica Jackey: I think everyone would agree that the team factor plays a pivotal role in motivation. We help each other adhere to the disciplined lifestyle that is necessary to lead in order to be successful in our sport. Being a part of a team that is extremely close and supportive of each other makes staying disciplined much easier and far more enjoyable. The DMR relay is my favorite part of the indoor track season because it is a team event, not just an individual race.
Liz Phillips: The best thing about being on a relay is that I get to be a part of something more important than myself. There is something very special about getting the baton from a teammate and knowing that I am running for each of the other three girls. Whenever I am tired or in pain, I just remember my three teammates and I push through the pain for them, just like they do for me.

SL: As it stands, your time is second in Division III behind St. Thomas by less than two seconds and ahead of Wartburg by 0.12 seconds. What kind of shot do you give yourselves to take the whole thing?
SH: I have never been more confident in my teammates or proud of them than I was on Saturday. I have seen all of these girls put all of their heart and strength into running and our DMR. I know that come nationals, we will undoubtedly be ready to achieve our greatest. That may mean winning, and it may not. However, I will tell you that I will put all of my money on us being the prettiest, most prepared, most having fun DMR at nationals.

SL: What’s the attitude like in practice with a little more than a week left before conferences and then nationals soon after that?
MS: We are all just so excited. This is not only a talented group, but a group who cares so much about each other. We all are just preparing ourselves to line up at nationals and leave it all out there. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know it will be something really special.

SL: Favorite Olympic sport besides track?
MS: Gymnastics.
EJ: Swimming and gymnastics.
LP: Short-track speed skating.
SH: Trampoline! Just kidding. But seriously, it’s pretty sweet to watch—at least for the first couple of minutes.

SL: You need to get fired up. what song are you going to listen to?
MS: If I’m listening by myself, probably something by Kanye West. But if I’m singing with this relay group, definitely something from “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack. That’s our specialty!

The women’s team of senior Molly Schlamb, sophomores Erica Jackey and Liz Phillips, and junior Sangeeta Hardy ran the event in 11:51.32. The time bested the previous record of 11:55.12 set in 2005 when the Bears beat North Central College’s team by more than 30 seconds. The relay squad automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III indoor championships and had the second best run in all of Division III this season.

“There had been a lot of anticipation going into this race, and it felt so good to finally run it and accomplish our goal of qualifying for Nationals,” said Jackey, who credited team chemistry for their success.

“You can have a lot of talented individuals,” Jackey added, “but to have a great relay team, they have to all be willing to gut it out for each.”

The distance medley relay team now joins sophomore Dan Davis in the 55-meter hurdles and junior Ben Harmon in the pentathlon as Wash. U. athletes who are guaranteed a spot at nationals in Greencastle, Ind., next month.

Jackey also won the 800-meter event with a time of 2:21.24, and the women swept the top six positions in the 3,000-meter dash, with junior Jessica Londeree (10:24.66), sophomore Catie Reynolds (10:48.81), and sophomore Lindsey Vogel (10:49.21) leading the way.

The men’s record-setting 4×400 relay team of senior Chris Malaya, Harmon, Davis and graduate student Pierre Hoppenot fell short of victory to Lewis University, but managed to post a provisional qualifying mark for the national meet.

“We had the mindset that ‘we are going to make nationals,’ and none of the four of us doubted that for a second,” Harmon said.

The men emerged victorious, however, in the 3,000-meter run. Senior Alden Black ran a time of 8:51.56, Hoppenot took first in the 55-meter dash with a 6.64, and junior Dave Spandorfer took first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:44.96. Spandorfer’s time also was good for provisional qualifying.

Dan Davis’ undefeated streak in the 55-meter hurdles finally came to an end in the form of disqualification. The elimination came after Davis knocked over a hurdle to prevent himself from falling.

“It’s frustrating, but it happens,” Davis said. “I’ve been there before, so I guess I just have to keep moving forward and not really think about it, because it’s not that big of deal.”

In the larger scope, the men and the women posted 15 season-best times between them just two weeks before the University Athletic Association conference meet at Brandeis University.

“We had a lot of great performances,” Jackey said, “This will provide the confidence and the momentum that we need going into the UAA championship.”

With additional reporting by Alex Dropkin

Senior Molly Schlamb, above, took sixth place in the UAA championship meet on Saturday morning as the women’s cross country team took first place to capture the UAA title. (Scott Bressler | Campus in Focus)

The team combined for a total of 37 points, beating out Case Western Reserve and NYU for the first-place spot. Leading the team was senior Molly Schlamb, finishing sixth overall with a time of 23:48, to be followed by junior Sangeeta Hardy (23:49:04) in seventh, and sophomore Liz Phillips (23:55:72) in eighth.

Junior Kwin Keuter led the men, finishing 12th overall with a time of 26:47. Finishing just moments later was junior David Spandorfer, who took 13th with a time of 26:49. Freshman David Hamm came in 26th overall with a time of 27:18:05, which earned him the title of the UAA Rookie of the Year.

Despite the teams’ standings, there were many who didn’t achieve personal bests—the fault of which seemed to be the weather and the condition in which the field was.

“The meet was a slopfest, which made for very slow times, but we competed well,” senior Alex Bearden said.

With the men’s top runner, Michael Burnstein, out sick with pneumonia, Bearden made it very clear that the team had to find other reserves to do its best. “We were running without our top guy, but we had some guys come through with clutch performances right when we needed it,” Bearden said.

Overall, the Bears view this meet as a success. “The men’s team really redeemed itself after having a disappointing conference meet last year,” said Keuter, who had his best race of the season. “Our competition at regionals will be really tough, but our success today shows that we’re capable of great things.”

The race was undoubtedly a success for the women’s team, who beat out the second-place team Case Western Reserve, last year’s champion, by over 22 points. “It was such a great team meet, and it was awesome to see teammates working together,” said Schlamb, a co-captain. “I love conference because it’s really focused on being a team, and so to win, that was really fun. We had a lot of people really step up to the challenge yesterday.” The Lady Bears had six runners placed in the top 25.

On Nov. 14, both Bears teams return for the NCAA regionals meet in Oshkosh, Wis.

“We lost to three teams [yesterday] who could all finish in the top 10 at NCAAs,” senior Zach Griffen said.

Despite that, the team remains motivated.

“If we are firing on all cylinders at regionals in two weeks, we will be going to nationals expecting nothing but a top-10 finish,” Bearden said.

“This is one special group of girls, because we care so much about each other outside of running,” Schlamb said. “It makes it that much easier to fight through the pain of racing each other, and instead focus on what’s really important.”

Against mostly Division I squads, junior Tayrn Surtees was able to lead the women with a time of 18:04:28, and sophomore Michael Burnstein led the men with a time of 25:06:99. Surtees finished 21st and Burnstein finished 45th.

Running against Division I teams like University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University, two runners on the women’s team were able to break the 20-minute barrier: juniors Jess Londeree (18:44:48) and Sangeeta Hardy (18:55:91).

Freshman runner David Hamm ran for 25:47:62, finishing second among the Washington University runners. Sophomore Malik Nabulsi, who beat his time from last week’s meet by over a minute, said, “I think we left this meet a much better team because we took risks during the race and learned from them.”

Senior Molly Schlamb, the second finisher for the Red and Green, finished 10 seconds behind Surtees. “The race was awesome with perfect weather, a fast course and great competition,” Schlamb said. This is the second meet in a row in which Schlamb finished second for the Bears. Schlamb beat her time from last week’s meet by just under a minute.

The teams continue to have their eyes set on the regional meet in November. The teams did well to continue their drive to qualify, which senior Zach Griffen attributes to the fact that Saturday’s meet was the best meet the teams will run all year. “This meet was all about getting our feet wet,” Griffen said. “NCAA regionals and nationals will be similar to yesterday.”

If Wash. U. runners continue running like they have been, they will be able to run at regionals and continue their trek to qualifying for nationals. The team is slowly working its way up and aiming to field an experienced squad.

“Come regionals we are going to have a strong seven [runners] toe the line, and we will all feel the excitement,” Nabulsi said.

The women’s team combined for 48 points, falling 14 points behind the first-place team, Southern Illinois University, and beating the third-place team, Murray State, by 16 points. The men’s team defeated the third-place team, University of Evansville, by 22 points. Despite their strong performance, the men were unable to overcome Southern Illinois University’s perfect score of 15 points.

The teams were challenged by the elements and were unable to meet some of their personal best times. The field was muddy and unforgiving to the runners.

“Because of the muddy conditions the meet was more about competing than time, and we did a great job of that,” senior Molly Schlamb said. The women had nine runners in the top 25, while the men had seven in the top 25 finishers. Leading the way for the women was sophomore Liz Phillips in sixth place, Schlamb at seventh and junior Jess Londeree in 11th.

“Everything we do is geared towards qualifying for the NCAA’s regional meet in November,” senior men’s co-captain Zach Griffen said.

Although many of the runners are out due to injury, some new runners, such as freshman David Hamm and sophomore Malik Nabulsi, have been huge additions to the team, Griffen said.

Hamm paced the Bears, finishing sixth overall with a time of 26 minutes and 33 seconds, while Nabulsi came in seventh. The men’s race was very competitive, with eventual winner SIU’s Jason Ordwar finishing just eight seconds ahead of Hamm. Junior Erik Hinrichsen came in 13th overall, rounding out the Wash. U. top three. The men are determined to make a name for themselves and perform as best as they can every time, members of the cross country team said.

The team travels to Louisville, Ky., next week to represent the Red and Green against some Division I teams in one of the biggest invitational meets of the season. The meet is incredibly important for qualifying for the NCAA regionals in November.

“Last week was some great practice for bigger meets such as next week’s,” Griffen said. “Hopefully, it won’t be covered in mud again.”

The entire team hopes to qualify together for regionals in November and really put Wash. U. on the map for cross country.

“This year’s team is really special, and I believe when November comes, we will be ready to achieve some really great things,” Schlamb said.

With its third-place finish, the women received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22.

The women came into the meet with high expectations after placing first in the past three regional meets. However, the Lady Bears fell short by only nine points to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and runner-up University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Placing for the Lady Bears were sophomore Taryn Surtees, freshman Elizabeth Phillips and junior Molly Schlamb, who placed fifth, 12th and 20th respectively. All three runners received NCAA All-Midwest Region recognition Saturday.

Schlamb described this season as “incredible…because having graduated those awesome seniors, we’ve been given a challenge. We’ve gotten the chance to show that while we are young, we are tough, and that our expectations for success haven’t changed.”

Junior Hope Rathnam and graduate student Angela Hartman placed 32nd and 48th respectively.

“We have been through a lot of health issues, but we will be standing at the start line next Saturday with a healthy and prepared team. I really think we can finish anywhere from 2-12,” Head Coach Jeff Stiles said.

The men fell short to No. 2 ranked North Central College, who won the meet with 51 points. Sophomore Dave Spandorfer anchored the team, placing 41st with a time of 25:49.6.

“While we weren’t thrilled with our results, I think we can use this as a motivation to get better for indoor, outdoor and ultimately next cross country season,” Spandorfer said.

Also scoring for the bears were senior Nick Silverman, junior Alex Bearden, freshman Tucker Hartley and junior Matt Kruger, who placed 54th, 58th, 62nd and 77th, respectively.

“The season for the men was one of maturation. We return six of the seven guys who competed at Regionals. We have had some key members injured, but the ingredients are on campus to be a great team. I couldn’t have been more proud of our effort at regionals,” Stiles said.

“We ran hard. Some guys ran better than they expected, and some guys weren’t as far up as they had hoped, but we competed…we went out there and gave it our all,” Silverman said after racing in his final cross country race at Wash. U.

The women will continue their season next weekend after receiving an at-large berth to the Division III Cross Country Championship meet. The race will begin at noon on Saturday in Hanover, Ind.