Lafayette and Lehigh went head to head again when the men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at Lehigh on Jan. 20. Both Lehigh’s men’s and women’s teams won overall, but Lafayette didn’t go down without a fight, with many Leopards earning personal records.

After each dual meet, a track and a field athlete from each team are awarded “athlete of the meet.” Senior sprinter Brendan Carroll, sophomore mid-distance runner Margaret Schiazza, senior thrower Dave McGriff and freshman thrower Olivia Barney were given this honor.

McGriff won both the shot put and weight throw with marks of 15.37m and 18.13m, respectively.

“I went into practices with a “win the day” mindset and worked hard to better myself every single day in the throwing circle and the weight room,” McGriff wrote in an email. “That training put me into position to perform the way I did and [gave me] confidence that I was better than the opposition.”

Freshman thrower Sam Fishbein followed shortly after McGriff, earning third-place in the shot put with a throw of 14.56m. Senior jumper Matt Beck came first in the high jump, reaching a height of 1.95m, followed by sophomore jumper Brendan Doyle in second place with a height of 1.90m. Freshman jumper Brian Kaufmann finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 13.46m and third in the long jump at 6.67m. Finally, senior pole vaulter Michael Thorne finished second in the pole vault at 4.50m.

“The indoor dual meet is absolutely electric,” McGriff wrote. “It’s loud, it’s closed in, it’s packed with alumni, and it’s against the Brown Team. The high energy environment juices up my throws but I do take a step or two back technique-wise.”

As for the track, Carroll finished first place in the 500m with a time of 1:08.65.

“There’s only one race in each event, so you can feel everyone watch you, which adds a lot of pressure and is also kind of creepy,” Carroll wrote. “I didn’t set a personal record but winning is more important in this meet.”

Sophomore multi Tyler Hubeny followed Carroll in third place in the 500m, scoring a new personal record of 1:10.54. The 1600m relay team consisting of junior sprinter Jacob Hubertus, sophomore sprinter Justin Johnson, Carroll, and sophomore sprinter Dan Hogan beat Lehigh with a time of 3:35.64. Both Johnson and Hubertus earned second place finishes in the 200m and 400m respectively. Johnson ran the 200m in 22.97 while Hubertus finished the 400m in 52.84.

“The most important goal I have for myself and my team is to beat the [Lehigh] in the spring,” McGriff wrote. “I don’t like that they think they are better than our team and I don’t like that they have any sort of proof that they are better than our team. If I could have anything, I would want to beat Lehigh one more time.”

The women performed excellently as well, winning three events in the process. Sophomore sprinter Crosby Spiess claimed first place in the 400m, finishing in 59.57. Schiazza won the 800m with a time of 2:18.16, and freshman distance runner Gabi Galletta finished first place in the 3000m with a new personal record of 10:13.44.

“I was happy about winning the race and beating Lehigh’s girls, especially since we were back and forth for some of the race,” Schiazza wrote. “Times on Lehigh’s track are naturally slower so although I’m content with a 2:18, I definitely plan on running better in upcoming weeks.”

Junior Sprinter Amy Hewlett finished in second place in the 500m with a new personal record of 1:18.33. Freshman distance runner Elizabeth Harmon also finished second in the mile with a time of 5:11.62 and senior mid distance runner Alexa Kwapinski finished third in the 1000m with a time of 2:58.17.

In the field events, freshman multi Katie Ullmann finished third in the triple jump with a new personal record of 10.22m. Barney set a new personal record when she finished third in the shot put at 11.46m. Barney also added another personal record in the weight throw when she finished fourth with a throw of 13.67m.

“On the day of the meet, I was able to listen to my coach and turn her recommendations into actions,” Barney wrote. “I was able to prove to myself that I have the strength and aggression needed to be a thrower. The goal now is to keep the intensity up and continue to improve.”

Despite so many women coming in top three in their races, with many setting new personal records, Lehigh still prevailed.

“It’s hard to say what could’ve gone better because we were all really focused on our competition,” Schiazza wrote. “I’m excited to see improvement in my own times and on our team in general.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be increasingly busy in the following weeks, beginning on Jan. 26 with the Bison Open at Bucknell and the New Balance Invitational in New York,  followed by the Covert Classic at Lehigh on Jan. 27.

Amy Hewlett is the sports editor of The Lafayette. She did not edit the content of this article.