Stags make great strides in Day 1 of SCIAC Championships

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The first day of the SCIAC Championships ended pleasantly for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Track and Field program as both the Stags and Athenas made a strong impression. Key wins in several finals events and some outstanding performances in a handful of preliminaries got CMS off to a positive start at the conference championships.

In the 10,000-meter run, senior Jesse Joseph (HMC) showed why he is one of the most durable runners in the conference with a first place finish at a time of 31:36.92. Freshman Tyson-Jay Saena (HMC) took third place in hammer throw with a mark of 46.55m while his classmate Reese Peterson (HMC) took second place in the discus with a mark of 42.83m. Senior Cam Van (CMC) secured points for the Stags with a second place finish in the high jump final, reaching 1.97m.

In the preliminary running events, sophomore Finn Southerland (CMC) broke his personal best in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing at 59.43. His eighth-place finish earned him a spot in the final on Saturday. Freshman Max Denning (CMC) and senior Joshua Sealand (HMC) locked up a spot in the 800-meter final after taking first and second, respectively. Sealand also competed in the 1500-meter run alongside freshman Thomas D'Anieri, sophomore Ben Iten (HMC), and senior Kyle Lund (HMC), all of whom qualified to the final round.

The Athenas swept the top three spots in the discus and hammer, as senior Vaiva Palunas (SC), junior Emily Bassett (CMC), and Nicole Laliberte (CMC) took first, second, and third, respectively in the final. Both Palunas and Basset broke the meet record (56.08m) in the hammers, also re-establishing the CMS All-Time record book in the event. Palunas threw 56.83m while Bassett recorded 56.54m. Laliberte marked at 49.13m. Palunas recorded a 46.92m in the discus while Bassett marked 39.64m and Laliberte reached 37.40m.  

Senior Liz Lee (HMC) matched her PR in the long jump final, taking second place at 5.57m. On the pole vault, sophomore Jacque Desmond (SC) took the top of the podium after jumping 3.62m over the bar. In the 10000, sophomore Malea Martin (CMC) and junior Lauren Stanislaw (SC) took second and third place, respectively, to give the Athenas some much-needed points. Martin finished at 37:49.98 and Stanislaw crossed at 38:15.94.

The SCIAC Championships will conclude on Saturday, April 29 with the field events starting at 2 p.m. and the running events starting at 3:30 p.m.