After a successful showing against Syracuse, the Colgate track and field teams traveled to Boston last weekend to compete in the Valentine Invitational. Although scores were not reported for either the men’s and women’s meets, both teams had some strong individual performances.

The ladies were led by junior Hannah Failing, who finished in 26th place out of 96 runners in the one-mile run and dropped five seconds off her previous best mile time of the season. Junior Nicole Christoforo also had a strong performance in the 500-meter dash, placing 11th out of 40 runners.

In the 1,000-meter race, the Raiders received two strong performances from junior Elizabeth Crowley and classmate Macrina Seals. The two runners finished in 13th place and 22nd place, respectively. The ladies are now gearing up for the Patriot League Championships, which will take place in Annapolis, MD at the Naval Academy this weekend.

The Raider men were in action in two locations last weekend. Some Colgate runners traveled to Cornell to compete in the Kane Invitational. At Cornell, Colgate was led by junior Alden Ellis, who recorded a personal best 21’9” jump in the long jump, placing him in eighth in the league rankings. Colgate also received personal bests from sophomore Garrin Rose and first-year J.J. Bennett in the 60-meter dash. In addition, sophomore Sean Field surpassed the 14-meter mark in the weight throw for the second time.

Meanwhile in Boston, the Raiders were led by junior Mike Hanlon, who recorded the best Colgate finish of the meet with a fourth-place performance in the 3,000-meter run, and sophomore Andy Holway, who finished in eighth-place in the 500-meter dash. Both Hanlon’s and Holway’s performances rank them second in the Patriot League standings, as well as second in the Colgate record books. In the 1,000-meter run, junior Scott DeRoo placed 11th, which also qualifies him for the IC4A Championships.

In the sprinting events, the Dilworth brothers turned in strong performances, with sophomore Thomas finishing strong in the 400-meter, placing him in fourth in the Patriot League, while brother Terrance ran a seasonal best in the 200-meter race. The men also received personal bests from seniors Dan Ellis in the 200-meter, Luke Merkel in the 800-meter, Sean Curran in the 800-meter and Nate Rosenthal in the one-mile.

“The team is peaking well and ready to compete at Navy in the Patriot League this weekend,” men’s head coach Art McKinnon said. The men will also be traveling to the Naval Academy to compete in the Patriot League Championships this weekend.