Last weekend, the men and women’s track teams had impressive performances against some of the best competition in the Northeast. The men’s team sent athletes to the Reebok Boston Indoor Games and the Boston University Invitational while the women also competed in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. The men’s team was led by sophomores John Gillespie in the 1,000m and Mike Hanlon in the 5,000m. Gillespie placed third with a time of 2:30:98, placing him tenth on the all-time Colgate performance list. Hanlon ran against some of the best distance runners in the country at the BU Invitational and came in 16th with a time of 14:41:19, second all-time for Colgate in the 5,000m event. Hanlon’s performance was good enough to qualify for the IC4A Championships. According to head coach Arthur McKinnon, Hanlon’s race was a “near perfect execution of strategy.” With a mile left in the race, Hanlon made an aggressive move when he took the lead in order to keep the race on pace. Although Hanlon later relinquished the lead, his bold move allowed him to keep pace and qualify for the IC4As. Senior Xavier de Boissezon, also made his season debut for the Raiders with a time of 15:30:99. Another performance that impressed McKinnon was the 4x400m team. The team included Gillespie and first-years Andy Holway, Osato Ukponmwan and Terrance Dilworth. The team turned in a time of 3:23:97, the second best time in the Patriot League this season, and placed sixth. McKinnon was particularly impressed with the performance by Ukponmwan, who anchored the team. Coming down the final stretch, Ukponmwan received a challenge by a runner from Albany and, according to McKinnon, “Osato responded and held off the Albany runner around the final turn and raced step for step to the finish line.” The race came down to a photo finish which showed Albany edging Colgate out by a razor thin .02 seconds. If the 4x400m team continues to improve, it will have a good chance of qualifying for IC4As. McKinnon also said he intends to run an all first-year 4x400m team in the hopes of break the all-time indoor first-year record. Also performing well for the Raiders was sophomore Geoff Bean, who finished sixth in the 55m dash in a time of 6. Classmate Don Boyajian came in eighth place for the Raiders with a time of 1:06:76 in the 500m dash. Faced with stiff competition in the 3,000m, sophomore Scott DeRoo finished in 15th with a time of 8:59:94. Behind DeRoo was junior Sean Curran with a time of 9:18:90. For the women, sophomore Hannah Failing once again had a great race, recording a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:58:26 to win the event. Failing ran the third best time in Raider history as she led the women’s team to an eighth place finish. Failing also ran the mile for the distance medley relay team, which finished sixth with a time of 12:34:34. The women’s distance team continued to look strong for the Raiders as junior Sarah Hildebrand finished fourth in the 800m in a time of 2:22:16. Sophomore Nicole Cristoforo also ran another strong race for the Raiders, with a personal best time of 2:59:70 in the 1,000m, finishing fourth in the race and sixth all-time for Colgate. Colgate’s first-years continued to look strong as Kathryn Marvel and Abby Chapman continued their impressive first seasons for the Raiders. Marvel posted a personal best in the 5,000m with a time of 18:08:00, which is fourth all-time for the Raiders. Chapman also earned a place in Raider history when she finished seventh in the 1,000 with a time of 3:02:13, tenth best in Raider history. Tomorrow the track teams will be at home for their first and only time this season as they host the Class of ’32 Invitational, which begins at 11 a.m. and continues throughout the day. Women’s head coach Coach Laura Nardelli is excited for the event, “we look forward to hosting the Class of ’32 Invitational,” she said. “It’s a chance for our kids to shine at home.”