WESTON, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College outdoor track & team concluded its 2016 regular season Sunday at Regis College's Pride Invitational, doing so in style as 16 of the 23 Mountaineer entries were individual bests.
Seven of those marks were new SVC program records while another nine were new personal-best marks. Additionally, 15 of the times and distances placed in the top 10 at the Invite with two Mountaineers taking gold in their event.
While the season ended on Sunday for most of the team, two Southern Vermont athletes will now keep practicing to gear up for their postseason championship appearances. Sophomore runner Marc Brandmeyer (Bennington, Vt.) qualified in the men's 3000 meter steeplechase for this upcoming Saturday's Division III New England Championship hosted by Springfield College, and he will also be heading to the Eastern College Athletic Conference DIII Outdoor Championship for the event on May 20. Freshman pole vaulter Isaiah Backels (Derry, N.H.) will also be competing in the DIII New England title meet this Saturday.
Backels won the pole vault on Sunday, doing so for the fourth time in five appearances this year with a mark of 4.15 meters.
Sophomore sprinter Patrick McGovern (Cheshire, Mass.) also came in first in the men's 200 meter dash, crossing the line with a time of 23.05. That mark was a new school record, topping his previous best time by .34 seconds while coming just .05 ticks from having him qualify for the DIII New England Championship. McGovern also placed fourth in the men's 100 meter dash on Sunday, being just .23 seconds off his SVC record with an 11.50.
Brandmeyer placed third in the men's 800 meter run, taking .77 seconds off the team's previous record as he put up a 2:01.42. He was also third in the men's 1500 meter run, shaving almost five full seconds off the old SVC program record with a 4:09.47.
A pair of Mountaineers set new PRs in the women's 200 meter dash, freshman Morgan Arleth (Berlin, Vt.) breaking her previous team record by .18 ticks as she came through in 33.25 seconds. Junior Victoria Cotter (Yonkers, N.Y.) was right behind at 34.73 seconds for a new personal best.
Both Southern Vermont shot putters also set new individual records as sophomore Danielle Simmons (Rensselaer, N.Y.) charted a new top SVC mark at 9.41 meters; that was .2 meters further than her old record. Classmate Tanisha Wright (Brooklyn, N.Y.) set a new PR to finish her rookie season, pushing the shot 7.44 meters to break her previous best by .97 meters.
The two Mountaineer entries in the women's 1500 meter run saw tremendous improvements over their prior top marks. Junior captain Shelby Whitman (Bennington, Vt.) took 10.12 seconds off her old team record to come in third place at 5:12.58, and Bennington College sophomore Annika Kristiansen (Keene, N.H.) was seventh overall as she took 13.27 seconds off her previous top time at 5:22.91.
Senior captain Cameron Michael Curtiss (Milton, Vt.) finished the men's 1500 meter run at 4:27.20 to place sixth overall, coming in just behind former SVC captain Victor Velazquez '15 who was an unattached runner. Curtiss' time was 3.59 seconds faster than his previous personal record.
Bennington freshman Noah Froh (Milwaukee, Wis.) took 2.25 seconds off his PR in the event to place 9th with a 4:33.52, and his BC classmate Alexander Ging (Simsbury, Conn.) had a new personal record in the discipline with a 4:54.91 that was 1.36 seconds ahead of his old top mark and almost four seconds faster than what he posted last week.
Junior Aden Fischer (Arlington, Vt.) came just under a second off his personal record in the men's 800 meter run, crossing the line at 2:10.36 to place ninth overall.
Curtiss, Froh, Fischer, and Brandmeyer teamed up to run SVC's first 4x400 meter relay as an accredited varsity team, placing third with a 3:47.13 finish.
SOUTHERN VERMONT RESULTS
Women's 100 Meter Dash
Victoria Cotter: 16.97 (PR)
Women's 200 Meter Dash
Morgan Arleth: 33.25 (SR)
Victoria Cotter: 34.73 (PR)
Women's 800 Meter Run
Shelby Whitman: 6th – 2:35.76
Annika Kristiansen: 9th – 2:39.53 (PR)
Morgan Arleth: 2:58.49 (PR)
Women's 1500 Meter Run
Shelby Whitman: 3rd – 5:12.58 (SR)
Annika Kristiansen: 7th – 5:22.91 (PR)
Women's Shot Put
Danielle Simmons: 8th – 9.41m (SR)
Tanisha Wright: 11th – 7.44m (PR)
Men's 100 Meter Dash
Patrick McGovern: 4th – 11.50
Men's 200 Meter Dash
Patrick McGovern: 1st – 23.05 (SR)
Men's 800 Meter Run
Marc Brandmeyer: 3rd – 2:01.42 (SR)
Aden Fischer: 9th – 2:10.36
Noah Froh: 10th – 2:12.35
Cameron Michael Curtiss: 11th – 2:13.92
Alexander Ging: 2:28.51
Men's 1500 Meter Run
Marc Brandmeyer: 3rd – 4:09.47 (SR)
Cameron Michael Curtiss: 6th – 4:27.20 (PR)
Noah Froh: 9th – 4:33.52 (PR)
Alexander Ging: 15th – 4:54.91 (PR)
Men's 4x400 Meter Relay
Southern Vermont: 3rd – 3:47.13 (SR)
Men's Pole Vault
Isaiah Backels: 1st – 4.15m
PR = Personal Record, SR = SVC Record