Over the past weekend, the men’s and women’s indoor track teams ventured out of the state of Maine for the first time this season in order to vie for victory at the Valentine Classic on Saturday and the Tufts Invitational on Sunday. Although the match ups provided the Mules with stiff competition, several members of both the men’s and women’s teams pulled off impressive performances.

With experienced competitors Dominique Kone ’13 and Trent Wiseman ’13 resting in preparation for their championship seasons, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships in four weeks, several other competitors stepped up to take the lead for the men. First-year Mduduzi Dan Langwenya sprinted his way to first place in the 60-meter dash at the Tufts Invitational on Saturday, edging out strong rivals Trenton Jackson, Peter Deraska and Royce Brown, all from Trinity College. In the 200-meter dash, however, Langwenya couldn’t hold on to a win as he fell to Jackson by .02 seconds. In the field events, John Gilboy ’13 won the shot put event by an impressive three feet, recording a toss of 47-5.75 feet. Other notable mentions include Matthieu Nadeau ’12 with a second-place mile time of 4:38.92, Ethan Crockett ’13 with a third-place finish in the 600-meter run at 1:30.55 and Justin Owumi ’14 with a third-place finish in the triple jump at 39-1.75 and a sixth-place finish in the 50-meter hurdles at 9:31.

At the Valentine meet, competitors from Division I and II schools thwarted the men’s efforts, but the team nevertheless generated a few remarkable showings. In the 800-meter run, Luke Doherty Munro ’13 pushed to 65th place and teammate Matt White ’14 secured 77th while Brian Desmond ’13 locked in a 71st place showing in the 1000-meters.

Reflecting upon the men’s accomplishments as they approach their last meets of the year, Andy Maguire ’11 explains that, “As we head into these late season meets, we are looking to build on some great full-team performances from the end of January and early February....The team has come together very well and is thriving across the board in different event groups.”

The women’s team also found success in Massachusetts over the weekend.  Annabelle Hicks ’14 took first place in the 60-meter dash at the Tufts Invitational, completing Colby’s sweep of the event on both the men’s and women’s side. Brittany Reardon ’14 placed in three events at the meet, taking third in the 60-meter dash (8.33), third in the 200-meter dash (28.48) and fourth in the pole vault (10-6). Morgan Lingar ’13 clocked a second-place mile time of 5:29.06, while Emily Nadel ’14 grabbed third place for the Mules in the 1,000-meters with a time of 3:23.31 and Claire Cannon ’13 rounded out the efforts with a third place finish in the 3,000-meters at 11:10.66.

At the Valentine Classic, the Colby women’s team found their positions amidst the opposition, demonstrating their strength against tough adversaries. Danielle Sheppard ’11 jumped to a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a recorded leap of 5-4.25, while Laura Duff ’13 registered a 28th-place finish in the 1000-meter run at 3:05.47. Brittany Bell ’13 took 47th-place in the 400-meters, Emma Linhard ’11 took 54th in the mile and Brittany Colford ’13 placed 41st in the 1000-meters. Although the Mules were unable to defeat their Division I and II opponents, the sheer number of women with strong final runs and jumps was remarkable.

Judging from this weekend’s performances, the future holds great promise for Colby’s indoor track teams. The Mules hope to continue their winning ways next week at the New England Division III Championships in Cambridge, Mass.