The men and women’s track and field teams held nothing back last Saturday as both took first place at the Class of ’32 Invitational. Competitors and spectators alike greeted the event, Colgate’s only home meet of the season, with energy and enthusiasm.

The men’s fleet found its strength in the sprints, led by senior Geoff Bean and junior Thomas Dilworth. Bean nabbed first in the 200m dash and third in the 55m dash with times of 22.77 and 6.58, respectively. Dilworth made the two laps of the 400m dash in 50.05, yielding another first place. Colgate also captured second in the event with junior Andy Holway’s time of 51.18. Adding to the Raider medals were seniors John Gillespie, Alden Ellis, and Sean Field. Edging out second place by just over a second, Gillespie covered 800m in 1:57.13. An additional gold went to Ellis in the long jump for his season-best performance of 6.86m. Field rounded out the competition with second place in the weight throw.

“The race went out extremely slow, and I knew guys would be ready for a fast finish.” Gillespie said. “As the pace picked up on the third lap, I focused on staying relaxed and made my move on the leader with 150m to go.”

For the women, high marks came from the distance and infield events. Once again, sophomore thrower Rita Santibanez captured first in the shot put with a throw of 13.38m. A throw of 14.04m in the weight throw yielded a similar result. First-year Lauren Abuouf followed Santibanez with a strong showing to finish second.

In the mile, sophomore Kristen Kiraly took top honors, clocking the eight laps in 5:25.7. Five seconds later came junior Kathryn Marvel.

“The mile is a careful balance between speed and endurance,” Kiraly said.”You must run the mile wisely, knowing your own pace, making moves at the ideal moments and running it so you have nothing left in your tank when you cross that finish line.”

For the second week in a row senior Hannah Falling excelled, finishing in the medals, this time moving from a third place finish to a first in the 3,000 meter run. She finished at 10:15.16, a full fourteen seconds before her closest competition.

On Saturday, the running Raiders will take on the Big Apple as they compete in the Syracuse Invitational, to be held at the Armory in New York City.