On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Keene State men’s and women’s track and field teams started their season as they traveled to Smith College and competed in the Smith Invitational.
For the men’s team, first-year Angel Ramirez competed in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, placing fourth in the 60 meter and second in the 200 meter. The fourth place finish in the 60 meter dash was fast enough to qualify him for the New England Division III Championship. Keene also had sophomore Jared Hannon place eighth in the 200 meter dash. Senior Matt Dudley ran in the 3000 meter run, finishing in eighth place. In the final meter run of the day, junior Phil Parent finished seventh in the 5000 meter run.
In the long jump, both Ramirez and Hannon finished back-to-back with Ramirez coming in third and Hannon in fourth. With his finish, Ramirez qualified for the New England Championship and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship for long jump.
For the women’s team, senior Katelyn Terry took first place in the 800 meter run, followed by a second place finish from her sister Lindsey Terry. Both finishes were fast enough to qualify for the Division III New England Championship. In the 3000 meter run, senior Alyssa Lombardi finished in sixth place. In the 4 by 400 meter relay, the Terry sisters, sophomore Taylor Bisaillon and first year Nicole De Almeida finished first.
After the meet, senior Matt Dudley talked about how he thought the men’s team performed in the first meet of the year saying, “The first meet was okay. There weren’t any big expectations. Getting used to the track races was the goal.” Dudley also talked about the men’s team expectation for this season and said, “Expectation-wise, I’d say we’ve got a few individuals that are going to go for a big season, but right now, we are looking to build up for the important meets.”
Both teams will head home for the holiday break and pick up their season on Jan. 8 when they travel to Dartmouth College.
Mike Cerrotti can be contacted at Mcerrotti@kscequinox.com
