Men’s and women’s track wrapped up their last home meet of the season this Tuesday, Apr. 16, at the 2019 Mid-Week Outdoor Invitational, which had several divisions and no team scores. Hamilton athletes competed against Colgate University, Hartwick College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Sage Colleges, and Utica College.

Women’s track saw strong performances both from reliable veterans and younger athletes for many stand-out finishes. Cat Berry ’19 and Marie Steiner ’20 dominated the 100- and 200-meter dashes, with Berry taking home first place and Steiner taking home second place in both events.

Berry and Steiner had times of 12.59 seconds and 12.61 seconds respectively in the 100-meter for extremely close first and second place finishes. They had times of 25.90 and 26.32 seconds respectively in the 200-meter dash.

Caitlin McHugh ’20 won the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:05.19, rounding out strong, first-place finishes from Hamilton athletes in the shorter sprints.

In the longer events, Brigit Humphreys ’21 came in second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2.25.92. Mia Schiel ’22 won her 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:11.20 to net Hamilton their fourth first-place finish of the day. Andy Uribe ’19 and Katie Cronin ’21 grabbed first and second place in the 3-kilometer run. Uribe ran the event in 11:07.80 and Cronin in 11:11.36 for another close Hamilton duo in first and second.

Emma Liles ’21 was second in the 100-meter hurdle with a time of 16.47 seconds and first place in the 400-meter hurdle with a time of 1:09.92. This first place finish was Hamilton’s fifth of the day.

The Continentals’ field athletes snagged three more first-place finishes. Leigh Gelotte ’19 had a 1.55-meter high jump that will send her to the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Championships and was good for first place. Andrea Shipton ’22 continued a strong first-year season with a first-place pole vault of 3.08 meters.

In the triple jump, Emily Steates ’19 and Lindsey Royce ’22 were first and second place in yet another Hamilton first-second place combination. Steates grabbed first place with a 10.25-meter triple jump, and Royce’s jump was 10.21 meters. Royce also placed in third with her 29.85-meter javelin throw.

The men’s track and field team also did well with strong showings across all class years. In the dashes, Hamilton athletes yet again finished first and second place in the 100-meter dash. Mitch Bierman ’21 took first place with a time of 11.44 seconds, and Ryan Sedwick ’19 took second place with a time of 11.53 seconds. Sedwick placed second in the 200-meter dash as well, with a time of 23.28. In the 400-meter dash, Hugo Frost ’22 placed fourth with a time of 53.21 seconds, and Jake Bolster ’19 snagged fifth place with a time of 53.80 seconds.

In the longer events, Lucas Wright ’21 continued his NESCAC domination with a first-place finish in the 800-meter run. He ran the event in 1:53.99 and smoked the competition, finishing more than six seconds ahead of the second-place runner. In the 1,500-meter run, Reilly Shew ’19 finished the last Hamilton home event of his college career with a second place finish and a time of 4:21.76. Hamilton athletes dominated the top of the 3-kilometer run as well, with Bryce Murdick ’20 in first with a time of 8:49.08 and Max Steffey ’22 in second with a time of 8:59.01.

Though the track and field team will not have any more home events, they will still compete at away competitions, with the next event on Saturday, April 20, at the University of Rochester Spring Classic. The events begin at 10:00 AM. This will be the last race for the Continentals before the NESCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

After this weekend’s track and field meet, Hamilton will send their top-performing athletes to postseason competitions. The first of those will be the NESCAC Championships on Saturday, April 27, at Middlebury College in Middlebury, V.T. Events will start at 10:00 AM. Last year, Berry took home first place at the NESCAC Championships for the 200-meter dash.

The next events for qualifying athletes will be the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Outdoor Championships on Wednesday, May 15, and Thursday, May 16, at SUNY Cortland in Cortland, N.Y. Afterward, any qualifying athletes will head to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, O.H. At last year’s Division III Championships, Berry was Hamilton’s sole women’s participant and was there for her second year in a row. No current men’s track athletes attended the Division III Championships.