Men's Results / Women's Results
WENHAM, Mass. — The Gordon College Men's and Women's Track and Field teams played host to unseasonably cold, damp weather and five conference opponents Saturday. Varsity teams from Salve Regina, Nichols and Roger Williams along with club counterparts from UNE and Endicott made their way through early morning mist to the Brigham Athletic Complex.
 
The Fighting Scots got things started by going 1-2 in the men's steeplechase. Sophomore Wes Nelson (Charlton, Mass.) took the win in a personal-best 10:19.95. Wes narrowly missed the school record—Dan Gaunya's 10:16 run in 2009—as well as the NE qualifying time of 10:10. Teammate Alex Russell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) was runner-up in 10:48.51, overtaking Roger Williams senior Matt Duggan over the final 300 metres. It was Russell's first time running the steeplechase.
 
On the field, Zak Flowers once again proved to be too much for the competition, garnering victories in three of the four throws. Flowers put the shot 12.70m, a new Gordon standard, in his first throw of the spring. In the discus, Flowers outdid his nearest competitor by over 6 meters with a throw of 41.76m. Gordon also took second and third with Andrew Fiedler (35.53m) and Christopher Warne (35.00m) doing the honors. In the hammer, it was Flowers and Warne in first and second, with throws of 48.77m and 33.12m, respectively. Flowers' throw was his best of the season by 5 cm, and he remains 7th in New England in the event.
 
Other highlights for the men were David Popa's victory in the 400m intermediate hurdles (1:01.95) in his first attempt at the grueling hurdle race; the 4 x 100m relay team's first-place, school record of 44.91 (Kola Olateju, Popa, Asher Gray, and Ben Sebuufu) and the day's final event, the 4 x 400m relay team of Sebuufu, Gray, Neal Olson and Colin Ponzani who ran away from the field to establish a new Gordon mark of 3:31.90. Olson also became the third Gordon quarter-miler this year to lower the school record in that event, to the tune of a 51.58 first-place finish. 
 
The Fighting Scots ladies also took the 4 x 400m relay, closing in 4:15.04 to RW's second-place 4:19.01. Leanne Beedle got out to a strong start, handed to Amanda Tarquinio who gave to Corrine Previte who overtook Roger Williams' third runner before handing to anchor-leg Leanna D'Alfonso. D'Alfonso ran away from the competition over the race's final lap.
 
Beedle had already won gold in the 800m, with a 2:26.02 to better UNE's Brittney Sorbello and 10 other competitors in the tough, two-lap tangle.
 
Emily Caren led the Scots in the field events, taking second place in the javelin (27.67m), the discus (25.52m) and the hammer (32.95m).She was also third in the shot put (8.77m), one spot behind teammate Kelsey Leighton (8.95m). Eleanor Ragon followed Caren in the disc (24.49m) and the hammer (31.81m, season best), as the Scots took spots 2-5 (Leighton and Abbi Biggar).
 
Mariah Geiger's final 5k of the season only resulted in a 4th place finish, but her time of 19:19.32 was a huge breakthrough and has her coaches excited about her potential for next fall. Teammate Thais Ziegenhals came oh-so-close to breaking 20:00 (20:01.81) in the final race of her Gordon career.