Track & Field Has Strong Showing as Invitational Hosts

ALEX DAHLEM ’20 STAFF WRITER
The Trinity College men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted the first Trinity Outdoor Track and Field Invitational in nine years on Saturday. Both teams produced great results on the brand new track and field facilities at Jessee/Miller Field. Top performers for the Bantams in a NESCAC-heavy field were the men’s 4 X 100 and 4 X 800 relay teams and the women’s 4 X 400 and 4 X 800 relay teams. On the individual side, Katie Marlow-Benedick ’20, Katie Tonyai ’17, Peace Kabari ’20, and Devan Walsh ’20 had great showings, while on the men’s side, Kyle Larsson ’18 and Joseph Ruggiero ’19 had productive individual performances.
First-year Katie Marlow-Benedick rolled her recent success into Saturday’s meet with a split-second first-place showing over senior teammate Katie Tonyai in the 100 meter-dash. Marlow-Benedick finished with a time of 12.73 seconds, just .03 seconds ahead of Tonyai. The pair then went on to impressive second and fourth-place finishes in the 200-meter dash. After the exciting short-distance races the Bantams continued their success into the longer strides. The dynamic sophomore duo of Anna Barnes and Lauren Barrett contributed heavily to Trinity’s success. Barnes finished a close second in the 800-meter run and blew away the field in the 1,500-meter run, while Barrett took home first-place in the 5,000 meter run. Rookies Grace Harrison and Samantha Feenstra impressed while taking 3^rd and 4^th just behind teammate Barrett, solidifying Trinity as the team to beat in long-distance races.
The real domination came in the 4 X 400-meter relay. The Bantams squad, made up of Barnes ’19, Lazur ’20, Marlow-Benedick ’20, and Tonyai ’17, dominated the field, beating second-place by 10 seconds. Meanwhile, the other Bantam relay team, comprised of Sophie Long ’17, Barnes, Caroline Sullivan ’19, and Briana Daley ’18, ran the 4 X 800 relay race to perfection, winning by an unprecedented 20 seconds.
In the field events for the women, Peace Kabari finished second in the shot put while Devan Walsh took second in the javelin.
On the men’s side, Samuel Oyebefun ’19, Ben Feola ’19, Luke Mayer ’19, and Daniel Hughes ’18 came in first in the 4 X 100-meter relay with a time of 44.06, besting second-place by 2 seconds, while the young squad of Lucas Duros ’19, Spencer Brown ’20, Timothy Bogomolov ’20, and Ace McAlister ’20 won first-place in the 4 X 800-meter relay event by 25 seconds, a performance that bodes well for the future of Trinity Track and Field. McAlister also showed his prowess in the 1,500-meter run, taking second place with a time of 4:05, less than a second behind the first-place time. Luke Mayer finished in second-place in the 110-meter hurdles, capping off what was an all-around tremendous day for Bantam Track and Field.
Both Men’s and Women’s teams return to action next weekend at Bowdoin for the NESCAC Championships.