Stags Track and Field Wins 11 Events at OIDFE Challenge Meet

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's track and field team won 10 events, including both relays, as it opened the season with a strong performance at the OIDFE Challenge Meet at the Burns Track Complex.

Individually, Mason Ratkovich (600 meters, 1000 meters), Joshua Martinez (60-meter hurdles), Agustin Gomez de la Vega (mile), Nick Teresi (400 meters), Hayden Beauchemin (800 meters), Ian Osborne (weight throw), Sarath Kakani (shot put), and Jonathan Holcombe (long jump) took events. 

Team scores were not officially kept, but CMS would have earned 260 points using a normal scoring system, with The Master's University a distant second with 135. 

The distance medley relay of Beauchemin, Matthew Jabro, Ellis DelVecchio and Oliver Pick took first place in 10:23.19, while the 4x400 relay of Colin Scanlon, Xzavier Sablan, DelVechhio and Nick Teresi won in 3:26.38. 

Ratkovich got his two wins early in the meet, taking first in the 1000 with a time of 2:31.66, followed by Jabro in second in 2:40.38. After the Stags won the DMR, Ratkovich came right back with a win in the 600 meters, winning by just over three seconds (1:23.34 to 1:26.49) over Diego Pineda. 

Martinez earned a win in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.33 seconds, with Chris Watson of Vanguard finishing .21 behind and Evan Siegel coming in third, after also coming in third in the 60-meter dash. Gomez De la Vega won the mile by a healthy 14-second margin over Cooper Anderson of Vanguard (4:32.33 to 4:46.38). 

Teresi's individual win hte 400 was by just one-tenth of a second over Jonathan Krynicki of Vanguard (50.09 to 50.19), with Scanlon coming in third in 50.57. Beauchemin won the 800 by over two seconds ahead of Zach Garey of The Master's (1:57.66 to 1:59.95).

Siegel followed with his third top-three finish in the sprints, coming in second in the 200 meters in 22.77, with Teresi right behind him in third.  Adam Cohan was fourth in the 3000 meters in 8:55.14 in the final individual race of the meet. 

In the throws, Osborne took first in the weight throw with a distance of 48'11", winning by seven inches over Josh Williamson of The Master's. Jason Bowman, James Cassidy and Kavin Prassana were No. 3-5 for CMS. Kakani won the shot put with a distance of 49'11.25" with Bowman in third and Osborne in fourth. 

Holcombe earned the win in the long jump in his first collegiate competition, reaching a distance of 21'4.25" (6.51 meters), a margin of just under six inches over Martinez in second. Kumi Selva was second in the triple jump (40'11.75") and Leo Sundstrom and Flynn Meier were second and third in the pole vault after earning the same clearance (13'11.25).

CMS will be back in action on Feb. 9-10 when several athletes will compete in indoor events at Whitworth and Boston University's Invitationals. The Stags will be back in action as a full team for the Pomona-Pitzer All-Comers Meet on Feb. 17, followed by a return home for the Rossi Relays on Feb. 24.