CMS added All-Academic Team honors to its sixth straight SCIAC title
CMS added All-Academic Team honors to its sixth straight SCIAC title

CMS Women's Track and Field Surges Past Redlands for Sixth Straight SCIAC Title



WHITTIER, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's track and field team trailed Redlands heading into the final two events, but had five of the top six finishers in the 5000 meters in the final individual event, and added a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay to pull ahead and capture its sixth straight league title on Sunday at Whittier College.

CMS ended up with a margin of victory of 24.5 points over Redlands, winning by a final spread of 198.5 to 174, thanks to the 25-point advantage it earned in the 5000 meters. The win extends its streak of league titles to six, including five from 2015-19, before the pandemic canceled the 2020 and 2021 championships. 

Emily Clarke finished as the winner in the pivotal 5000 meter race, with teammates Riley Harmon in second and Meredith Bloss in third. Both Harmon (steeplechase) and Bloss (10000 meters) earned individual championships yesterday, and added an All-SCIAC performance in the 5000 to help the Athenas pull ahead. Chloe Taylor added a fifth-place finish and Anika Kimme was sixth, giving CMS five scorers for a combined 31 points, while Redlands managed just six. 

In addition to Clarke's individual title, Caroline DelVecchio finished in first place in both the 100-meter hurdles (14.50) and the 400-meter hurdles (1:02.69), and Brooke Simon was the champion in the pole vault with a new personal best of 3.90 meters (12'9.5"), while Robin Peterson added a fourth-place finish at 3.22 meters. 

The distance events were pivotal for CMS on its way to its sixth straight league title. Natalie Bitetti, Laura Zimmer and Emily Clarke finished 2-3-4 in the 1500 meters to give CMS 19 points (compared to three points for Redlands). Bitetti was also third in the 800 meters, with Zimmer fourth and Megan Maley sixth (compared to one point for Redlands). Yesterday, Kimme, Lara Cunningham and Mallorie Jenne finished 4-6 in the 10000 meters to add to Bloss' first-place finish, while Sophie Gitlin, Taylor (fourth), and Angela Gushue finished 3-5 in the steeplechase in support of Harmon. 

In the jumps on Sunday, Simone Rogers earned All-SCIAC distinction by tying for third in the high jump with a top clearance of 1.52 meters. Scarlette McCullough earned three points in the triple jump by coming in sixth place by breaking 10 meters (10.07). 

In the throws, CMS had three scorers in the shot put, with Carly Kirsch finishing fifth, Emily Burger seventh and Amanda Gallop eighth. Gallop and Burger also added a sixth and seventh-place finish in the javelin, respectively. 

Mikaela Lipsky contributed a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters after setting a PR in under a minute at 59.65 seconds, while starting the 4x400 relay that came in second to cap off the meet, followed by Lucy Konsmo, Zimmer and DelVecchio. 

Several CMS student-athletes will compete in further events in the coming weeks in order to try to earn qualifying marks for the NCAA Division III Championships, which will be held in the final week in May, including the Occidental Invitational this coming weekend.