The University of Chicago men’s and women’s track teams made it look easy at the 2018 Wheaton Don Church Twilight tournament this past weekend, with both teams taking home team victories. The Maroon women earned four separate first-place finishes, and 30 top-five finishes, while the men earned seven separate first-place finishes, with 22 top-five finishes. The Maroons continue their hot streak after placing second a week ago at the Benedictine Relays.
Wheaton, the host of the tournament, was unable to best the Maroons overall, as UChicago put up 173.5 total points to Wheaton’s 115 in the men’s meet, and 217 points to Wheaton’s 153.5 in the women’s meet.
UChicago was impressive across the board this weekend, and showed the depth of their rosters. In the women’s 1,500-meter, the Maroons swept all top-five finishes, with fourth-year Cassidy McPherson leading the pack with a time of 4:39.21.
The success was not only limited to middle distance, as first-year pole vaulter Sidney Lampert jumped to a first-place finish with a height of 3.38 meters, followed by fourth-year Angel Fluet and second-year Isabel Garon.
The Maroons weren’t finished yet, as first-year Zoe Smith took gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and second-year Laura Darcey led the way in high jump with a 1.68-meter clearance that put her at the top of the UAA and fourth-best in Division III, followed by third-year Alexandra Thompson and fourth-year Ade Ayoola in third and fourth places, respectively.
The men also dominated the weekend, capitalizing on good weather. In the 3,000-meter, third-year Ansel Richards led the way with the top time of 8:59.83, followed by fellow UChicago teammates Andrew Kates, Jack Barbour, and Tim Koenning in second, third, and fourth places.
Second-year Joe Previdi continues to push this season, running a 1:53.38 in the 800-meter, a time that put him atop the UAA and into fourth place in UChicago program history. Second-year Alexander Scott also threw himself onto the UChicago all-time leaderboard with a third-place 46.33-meter discus throw that puts him in an all-time third-place spot.
Second-year Tyson Miller in the 400-meter, fourth-year Patrick LeFevre in the 110 hurdles, fourth-year Obinnaya Wamuo in the 400 hurdles, second-year Eric Yu in the triple jump, and fourth-year Cristen Bublitz in the javelin all took home hardware, with more first-place finishes. Yu emphasizes that the weather was key in the victory, saying, “The weather this past weekend was a bit warmer and really allowed us to be explosive and compete hard.”
The Maroons will hope for warmth and continued success next weekend when they take on the UAA Outdoor Championships in Pittsburgh, starting on Saturday, April 28 at 10 a.m. EST.
