Men’s track and field flourished at two meets over the weekend, with many of the Ephs heading to Boston for the 2024 Boston University (BU) David Hemery Valentine Invitational and a smaller group heading to the Dartmouth Tune-Up Meet last Saturday. The Ephs set multiple personal records at the College and in Div. III, including Oscar Newman ’25, who bested his own school record in the 400m run of 48.62 seconds, dropping 0.3 seconds to improve to 48.32.
Renowned for its lively atmosphere and excellent facilities, the Valentine Invitational represented an exciting opportunity for members of the team. “This is one that we circle on the calendar every year,” Newman said “I don’t know if many people have run track in the Northeast, but apparently the BU track must have some magical quality where everyone runs really fast.”
Zach Liu-Walter ’26 explained that the track’s unique structure, with wooden boards lying underneath the oval, traditionally produces fast times. “But I think the other thing is that the energy at BU is unmatched by any other indoor facility in the world,” he added.
The notoriety of the BU track also attracts competitive racing fields. “You’re gonna have some of the best runners in the world at this meet, not necessarily in the same heats we’re gonna run in, but it’s just a really electric energy,” noted co-captain and multi-event athlete Jackson Anderson ’24.
“The competition is great,” Liu-Walter added. “There’s everything from pros to Div. 1 athletes to Div. III athletes like Williams.”
Given this intense atmosphere, the Ephs’ runners were ready to go.
“It was exciting to compete against some good people,” Newman said. “I like the environment. It’s a little loud, but it’s really fun.”
The enthusiasm reflected the team’s times, especially in the distance events. Liu-Walter ran the 800m course in 1:53.22, winning his heat, setting a 1.5-second personal record, and landing in the College’s all-time top 10 in the event. “I was very happy with the race,” he said. “It was the fastest I’ve ever run, and I would say it was a big breakthrough race for me.”
In the unseeded 5k, Chuckie Namiot ’25 set a personal record of 14:20.98, placing into the top 10 Eph runners of all time in the event. Then, in the seeded 3k, Nate Lentz ’24 ran a blazing 8:05.80, making him the ninth-fastest runner in Div. III history of the event.
To cap off the meet, in the seeded 5k, John Lucey ’24 ran a 14:09.63, sliding into the top 20 all time for Div. III. “A lot of people had really great races, so overall, the team did really well,” Liu-Walter said.
In addition to the record-altering times, Newman broke his own College record in the 400m from 48.62 to 48.32 seconds, taking first place in his heat as well. Coming off of injury, he ran conservatively in the opening 200 meters before opening up in the second half. “Given this is pretty much my first open 400m or 200m of the year, I’m pretty happy with it,” he said.
While many athletes competed strongly at BU, a large contingent stayed closer to home at Dartmouth. Anderson explained one reason for the divide was that BU provides more of an opportunity for fast times for “everything 200 meters and up,” but that field events and shorter sprints, like the 60m dash and hurdles, tend to fare better at Dartmouth’s facilities.
“We split it up so that the people who need those competitive races on the oval can get it, but then the people that don’t need that long travel, that chaotic meet, can go to something a little bit more manageable,” Anderson said.
The Ephs managed well. In the 3k, Chris Ratcliffe ’24 and Pat Theveny ’24 set personal records with times of 8:42.01 and 8:44.20 respectively. Anderson won his 60m hurdles heat in a quick time of 8.15 seconds. An added bonus of smaller meets is their comparatively informal structure.
“The highlight of my meet was getting to run on a mixed 4×4 relay,” Anderson said. “I wanted to get a 400 rep in, and the Dartmouth relay only had three legs. So I asked my coach, and he asked the Dartmouth coach, and the Dartmouth coach gave me the green light to run on the last leg.”
Coming off of a successful weekend, the Ephs turn their attention to the upcoming Div. III New England Track and Field Championship, which will take place at the New Balance facility in Boston from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.
The ultimate goal remains fixed to the upcoming outdoor season, as the Ephs look to steadily build fitness and speed over the next few months, according to Newman. “We’re really focused on getting as many athletes competing at as high a quality as possible in May, when outdoor nationals rolls around,” he said.
