Track & Field at Amherst College

2008-09 Track & Field - A Look Back

Indoor Depth Women / Indoor Depth Men & Outdoor Depth Women / Outdoor Depth Men

Senior Elise Tropiano, as she did during the XC season, led the team during the track season as she capped her indoor season with her first ever National Championship, running to the 5000m title at Rose Hulman. She posted the fastest time in the country in the 5k and the 3k, and won titles in both the DIII and Open NE Championships. First year Melissa Sullivan built on the momentum started indoors and had a phenomenal outdoor season lowering her best marks in several events and earning valuable championship points. Senior Carly Levenson, as she has throughout her career, continued to provide consistency week in and week out in both individual events and as part of relays, and joined with Melissa, Molly Priedeman and Zandra Walton to break the schools record in 4x800 relay at the Outdoor NE's. Hallie Schwab, Sophie Galleher and Senior Liz Dalton all provided some great races in the distance events and earned high places both indoors and outdoors at several of the championship meets. Susie Wasserman provided some scintillating relay legs as did Mary Doris Reggie throughout the course of the season. Jordan Roehl broke the Hammer school record and was also one the top shot putters in the region

The men improved on their finishes at the Championship meets during the winter and spring seasons from last year, and placed their highest in 10 years at NESCAC's while also finishing as runner-up at the ECAC Indoor Championships. The Distance Medley Relay team of Jimmy Swanson, Will Bell, Tommy Moore and Ben Scheetz broke the school record to qualify for NCAA's and then with Kit Callahan replacing the injured Scheetz, the team earned All-American honors with it's 7th place finish. Daniel Murner broke school records in doors and outdoors - 5k indoor to win the ECAC and then come back the next day and win the 3k as well, and the 10k outdoors with his victory at the Princeton Invitational. He competed in the 5k at the Nationals outdoors, coming in 14th. Will Yochum hit NCAA marks in the 1500 but missed making the field, while fellow id-distance runner Steve Corsello posted great times in the 800 and Mile. Andrew Reed proved that hard work and a little ability can sometimes offset experience, as he came out for track from football and became one of the top 400 runners in the region while also helping to bolster one the top 4x100 relays along with Anthony Fuller, Sean Legister and Tommy Moore. Peter Foote grabbed valuable points in the championship meets in the steeplechase and lowered his best times considerably as did John McGrail. At the All New England Championships, the 4x800 team of Steve Stewart, Kit, Ben and Will Yochum broke the school record by a few seconds in earning All NE honors.

2009-10 Track & Field - A Look Ahead

The women will lose the services, leadership and championship points of several graduated runners and will certainly feel the effects and impact of those losses. NCAA Champion Elise Tropiano, Multi time school record holder Carly Levenson, two year captain Kate Silverman and several strong seniors who made great contributions will be sorely missed. Sophie Galleher, Hallie Schwab and Christina Wong look to lead a young group of distance runners while Melissa Sullivan and Liza Schalch will now take a turn at leading the mid corps. Captains Mary Doris Reggie and Hoiwan Cheung, along with Susie Wasserman will lead the long sprinters and provide valuable service in several relays, while Jennifer Rybak will be taking charge of the short sprinters and field event crew. Jordan Roehl and Chi Uwakaneme had big first years throwing for the team, and should see great improvement this year. Several other first years could have an immediate impact, as Ali Simeone, Sarah Daly and Lauren Almeida could turn some heads in the distance events while Jess Mueller should see great improvement in the jumping events. during the season.

The men lose the leadership of several seniors but will return the majority of their team from last season, as well as the return of some key members who were abroad or injured. Daniel Murner will be one of the top distance runners in the country and will be looking to lower his school records while also trying to garner a few more, and earn All American honors and should get a lot of help from Carlyle Eubank, Eric Holaday and John McGrail. Jimmy Swanson will look to build upon his breakthrough season in the 800 and 1500 as well as lead a very strong middle distance group including Steve Corsello, Will Yochum and Will Bell - all of who have run 4:15 or under for the mile - and will also have several first year runners who will benefit from their strength. Ben Scheetz had a great season before having it curtailed by an injury and back at full health, could become one the top 800 runners in the region and will get plenty of pushing from Kit Callahan. Tommy Moore, Andrew Reed, Sean Legister, Larry Thompson and Keith Pendergrass will head up the sprint crew and be looking to again return as one the top relays squads in the region. Chris Eaton should continue to make big improvements in the hammer throw. Several first years could make a major impact as Adron Pitmon, Nick Bern and Patrick Grimes should be very strong in the Mid-distances while Dillon Buckley and Andrew Erskine should help bolder the distance group.

The Coaching Staff

Erik "Ned" Nedeau - Mid/Long Distance, Jumps, Throws, Hurdles

"Ned" to everyone, is the head coach of both the men's and women's track & field and cross country programs at Amherst College. Ned began coaching at Amherst College in 1995 and during his coaching tenure at Amherst, Ned has produced Four NCAA Champions (12 titles between them), Seventy-three All-American performances, Two Junior National medallists; a host of school records have been broken on numerous occasions, and nearly every athlete has set new personal records. This past outdoor track season, he was honored by the Coaches Association with the New England Coach of the Year award for the women. As an athlete, Ned was a Junior Olympic medallist in both the 400 Hurdles and Decathlon during high school. In college, he was a five time All-American at Division I Northeastern University in the 800 & 1500, along with competing at the NCAA cross country championships. In 1992 he was 7th in the 800 at the Olympic Trials running 1:46.19. Since he graduated in 1994, he has run for Team New Balance. He was a bronze medallist in the 1500m at the 1995 World Indoor Championships, as well as placing 4th in the 1500 at the 1996 Olympic Trials. With his abilities and the experience that he has gained over the years, Ned offers a great deal to his athletes, and in turn the program. Ned and Amy got married in the summer of 2003, and have a son Lukas and they, along with the best dog in the world Austin, live in nearby Belchertown.

John Adamson - Sprints / Hurdles / Jumps

John's primary responsibilities are with the sprinters, intermediate hurdlers and the high jumpers. During his tenure, John has had tremendous success and has helped make the sprinters and jumpers amongst the best in the region. John graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1995 where he was a varsity runner for the Minutemen. In addition to his part time coaching role, he works full time as the Director of Human Resources at University Products in Holyoke, MA and resides in Belchertown with his wife, Samantha, and their twin boys - Brandon and Trevor.

Amy Nedeau - Middle and Long Distance

Amy works with the middle and long distance runners. Amy earned All-American honors while running track and cross country for Boston College, and continues to compete for the Boston Athletic Association. She has competed at the 2000 Olympic Trials in the 1500 and has also competed at the Indoor Track and Cross Country National Championships. Her current personal bests are 56 400m, 2:07 800m, 4:18 1500m, 16:15 5k and 27:30 5 miles. Amy had been an assistant coach at Brandeis University for three seasons before coming to Amherst. In addition to her coaching duties, she is a Fifth Grade Elementary school teacher in Belchertown.

Steve Shashy - Throws and Sprints

Steve starts his first of year of coaching with the team, but is not new to the program. Shash graduated in 2008 from Amherst, having been a two year track & field captain who competed in the throws and sprints for the Lord Jeffs. After spending a year in NYC doing investment banking, he decided to return to Amherst to try his hand at coaching and he will be working with both the throwers as well as the sprint group, and coordinate the recruiting efforts for the program.

Nate Wallace - Middle and Long Distance

Nate joined the program last year, and will again be helping with the middle and long distance runners as well as working with all of the team in relation to mental preparation and visualization exercises. He is a graduate student in the Exercise and Sports Science Program at Smith College and is also serving as an assitant coach in their soccer program. Nate graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2002 with a degree in Philosophy and was a two sport athlete - soccer and track & field - while in school. He continues to train and compete, focusing on trail and ultra events.

 

The NESCAC Conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an affiliation amongst Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury,Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams. The voluntarily upheld regulations and scheduling agreements allow each institution to maintain the highest standards of academic excellence while providing outstanding opportunities for the student-athlete to pursue athletic excellence. The schools in the NESCAC's are among the top schools in the nation, athletically and academically. Competition amongst the schools is intense, as year in and year out, NESCAC programs and individuals, are vying for National Championships. The NESCAC Championships are held each year on the last weekend of April and always at a rotating venue, this year at Tufts.
 

The Little Three

Amherst is proud to be a part of the Little Three conference with Wesleyan and Williams. The Little Three is considered to be one of the most prestigious small college rivalries in the country. The Little Three also represents one of the east coast's oldest and most intense competitions. The Amherst-Williams series is regarded as the nations top small school rivalry - GO AMHERST!! Each year, we have the Little Three Championships, that like the NESCAC's, is hosted on a rotating basis, this year the meet will be at Williams and we hope you can attend the meet.

Athletics at Amherst College

Amherst College is a Division III member of the NCAA, which means that we are not able to provide athletic scholarships and we compete under the auspices of both the NCAA and NESCAC rules and regulations. There are 27 varsity sports at Amherst to go along with numerous club sports, and an extremely popular intramural sports program. For information about the athletics program or specific sports and their respective coaches at Amherst College, please contact our Sports Information Department's web site. This site contains information about all of our varsity and club sports at Amherst, including schedules, results, coaches, late breaking news and much more.

Directions to Amherst College

Please click on the following link for directions to Amherst College - Directions - which will bring you to the admissions office which is right next door to the Alumni Gym which is where the office is located. The outdoor track is located directly across the street from the Alumni Gym Parking Lot - follow Hitchcock road to the end (200 yards) and you will be at the Lumley Track. The cross country course starts and finishes on the upper athletic fields located directly behind the gym, and goes out on the trails to and from the mile long field loop.
 
 

Return To Track Home page