Over the past weekend, the Colgate men’s and women’s track teams each competed in a spring meet, serving as a tune-up for the upcoming outdoor season. The women travelled to Carolina, Puerto Rico to compete in the 5th Annual Carolina Invitational. The men journeyed down to South Carolina to compete in the Shamrock Invitational. Team scores were not recorded, as the meets were just preparation competitions for many teams, but both the men and women experienced measurable success.

The Colgate women’s track squad sent a select group of runners to compete in the Carolina Invitational in Puerto Rico, and finished very well for their first outdoor meet of the season. The Raiders carried their success in relay events over from the indoor track season to the meet in Puerto Rico. Senior Ashley Niness, junior Michelle Miller, and sophomores Ali Atkinson and Megan Snell represented Colgate well in the 4×100 and 4×400 events. In the 4×100 event, the Raiders placed 7th with a final time of 49.92. The foursome finished a step higher in the 4×400 relay, placing 6th overall. The Raiders crossed the finish line in a respectable 4:01.48.

Sophomore Elise DeRoo started off her outdoor season with a bang, placing second overall in the 5,000 meter run. DeRoo added her name to Colgate’s record board once again, finishing the race in 17:07.15. The old record was set by then-sophomore Danielle Whicher in 2004, who finished the race in 17:22.08. DeRoo was rewarded for her superb effort by being crowned Patriot League Female Runner of the Week.

Along with the physical training presented by the meet, women’s track head coach Laura Nardelli noted that there is another significant purpose of the meet saying, “the trip is also important for team bonding…all of the events train separately, with different coaches and even different locations… but the team still loses with one score.”

The women’s quad will return to action on April 2-3, when they compete in the Sam Howell Invitation. “It will be a wait and see type of season, working with our strengths, and hoping our upper-class women can take some points and carry the season,” Head Coach Nardelli said of her expectations for the spring.

The men’s track team opened their outdoor season this past weekend as well at Coastal Carolina University. The men also began their season positively, experiencing measurable success in several events. Junior Ed Sheridan continued his success in the long-distance events, placing second overall in the 10,000 meter run. Sheridan finished with a time of 31:44.48,less than four seconds behind winner Josey Weaver of Western Carolina. Sheridan’s teammate, junior Grant Stauffer, placed 4th in the event with a time of 32:58.30. The time was a personal best for Stauffer.

In the 5000 meter run, first-year Chris Johnson placed tenth, crossing the finish line in 15:20.02. Junior Dan Gleason opened his outdoor season well, placing second in the 1500 meter run with a time of 3:58.60. Senior Jeremy Fisher placed twelfth, followed closely by junior Ed Boulat in 14th place. In the 3000-meter steeplechase, sophomore Mitchell Boucher placed fourth for Colgate, snapping the tape in 10:03.43.

Colgate was particularly successful in the 800 meter run, placing three runners in the top-10. Junior Andrew Smith placed fourth in the event with a final time of 1:54.55. Smith was followed by junior Jonathan Knowlton and sophomore Timothy Metivier, who finished in 1:55.04 (fifth place) and 1:55.31 (sixth), respectively. Senior Phil Natoli performed well for the Raiders in the 400-meter hurdles, placing seventh with a final time of 54.45.

Colgate performed extremely well in the 4×800 relay, placing two teams in the top 3. Colgate’s ‘A’ Team, consisting of Boulat, Metivier, Knowlton and Smith, placed second in the event with a final time of 7:41.97, and was followed immediately in third place by Colgate’s ‘B’ squad, consisting of Gleason, Dan Schwaibold, Eric Sause and Fisher, who completed the race in 7:49.92. The men’s track squad will return to action with the women on April 2-3 for the Sam Howell Invitation in Princeton, New Jersey.