LEWISTON, Maine – The MIT men's track and field team traveled to Maine for a meet with Bates College, Colby College and the University of Southern Maine on Saturday. The Engineers competed hard but would ultimately come up short, finishing in second place behind the host Bobcats, 258-241. Southern Maine finished in third with 89 points while Colby placed fourth with 73.
Tyler Singer-Clark had a busy and outstanding afternoon for the Cardinal and Gray, as he was entered in four events and came away with two first-place showings and one runner-up performance. The freshman was first in the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 22.23 seconds. He was also second in the 400 at 50.27 seconds and helped guide the 4x100 relay to a win. Joining Singer-Clark on the 4x100 relay, which finished in 44.02, were Josh Duncavage, Nick Leonard and Nathan Peterson.
Leonard also took on a large workload, competing in seven different events and scoring over 20 points. On the track, Leonard was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.98) and first in the 400 hurdles (57.15). The senior also scored in the high jump, where he placed eighth, and long jump, taking third.
The Engineers had a great deal of success in the distance events as well, placing at least two runners in the top three of the 1500, 5000m and Steeplechase. Roy Wedge (15:11.89), Dawit Zewdie (15:21.56) and Daniel Harper (15:22.30) swept the top three positions in the 5000 meters. Paul Welle was a winner in the Steeplechase, with a time of 9:26.14 and was supported by Stephen Serene's third-place effort (9:49.11). Benjamin Mattock and Justin Bullock went second and third in the 1500, with times of 4:00.69 and 4:00.82, respectively.
In the field events, Cyrus Vafadari and Nathan Peterson earned crucial points for Tech in the pole vault. Both vaulters cleared the bar at 15-1.00 feet, with Vafadari taking second on attempts. Matt Falk won the high jump, clearing 6-1.25 feet and Jackson Wirekoh (41-6.00 feet) took the triple jump.
In the throws, Kenneth Cooper finished first in the Hammer Throw and was fourth in the shot put. Mitchell Kelly was MIT's ninth event winner of the afternoon, with a 155-00 foot effort in the discus. Kelly also placed fifth in the shot put.
The Engineers will host their annual Spring Invitational next Saturday, April 16. The meet begins on the Steinbrenner Track at 11:00 a.m.
