By Cole Skuse
Men’s Track and Field
This weekend, the Carnegie Mellon men’s track and field team opened their outdoor season as part of the West Virginia Stan Romanoski Open.
In the 400-meter race, second-year Jeremy Ocloo placed fourth with a time of 51.09 while classmate Gavin Williams took sixth with a time of 51.91. Third-year Sebastian Sanso took first in the high jump after clearing 1.83 meters. In the hammer throw, second-year Sam Alligood took eighth with a mark of 43.44 meters while also placing sixth in the discus with a toss of 40.17 meters. Graduate student Bailey O’Malley took eighth in the discus with a throw of 39.41 meters. Second-year Christian Duckworth took third in the pole vault after clearing 4.70 meters, beating the previous school record of 4.66 meters that was set in 2017.
The Tartans will be back in action next weekend when they host the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.
Women’s Track and Field
To start off their outdoor season, the Carnegie Mellon women’s track and field team headed to West Virginia University for the West Virgina Stan Romanoski Open on Friday and Saturday.
Graduate Student Liz Barre took first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.75 and also crossed the line fourth in the 400-meter race with a time of 1:01.62. Second-year Zoe King also took part in the 400-meter race, placing 14th with a time of 1:03.47. In the pole vault, senior JoJo Huczko took third after clearing 3.35 meters while graduate student Emily DeAugustino took ninth after clearing 2.60 meters. In the shot put, third-year Taylor Symonette placed eighth with a mark of 11.27 meters.
The Tartans will return to action next weekend when they host the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Between March 20 and March 23, the Carnegie Mellon men’s swimming and diving team competed in the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
On day one, the team of second-year Arnav Deshpande, first-year Aaron Lee, graduate student Aleksander Tarczynski, and second-year DJ Lloyd took sixth in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:27.46, setting a new school record. Lloyd also placed 16th overall in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.44. First-year Brayden Morford also set a new school record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:46.26 in the preliminaries. He went on to place third in the event with a time of 1:46.51.
On the second day, the team of Tarczynski, first-year Brayen Morford, Lloyd, and Deshpande took fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:19.72, setting another school record. The team of Morford, third-year Christian Lanuza, Tarczynski, and Deshpande also took first in the consolation finals of the 400-yard medley with a time of 3:14.21. In the 400-yard individual medley, first-year Miles Haraldsson took 24th with a time of 4:04.22, and in the 200-yard freestyle, graduate student Willem Goedecke took 35th with a time of 1:40.25.
The Tartans continued to score points on the third day, with Tarczynski taking 12th in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:47.94. Morford took second in the 100-yard backstroke with a new school record of 47.04, beating his previous school record of 47.06. Deshpande took 13th overall in the 100-yard backstroke, competing in the consolation finals and earning a time of 48.40. Lanuza took 16th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.96, also topping his previous school record in the preliminaries with a time of 54.55. The team of senior Santiago Gomez, Goedecke, first-year Richard Chung, and Morford also broke a school record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with a time of 6:36.17, earning them 10th place.
The Tartans didn’t slow down on the last day, with Morford taking seventh in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:48.05. The team of Lloyd, Morford, Deshpande, and Tarczynski took ninth place in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:58.82. Haraldsson took 17th in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:59.53. Lanuza took 20th in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:00.71, breaking another school record.
The combined efforts of the Tartans earned them 161 team points and eighth place, the best finish for the team since 2005 when they placed sixth. Five Tartans recorded All-American performances while eight recorded All-American Second Team honors.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Between March 20 and March 23, the Carnegie Mellon women’s swimming and diving team competed in the 2024 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships.
On the first day, second-year Sophie Ellie missed advancing to the 500-yard freestyle finals after placing 18th with a time of 5:00.23. Second-year Savannah Xu found herself in a similar situation in the 200-yard individual medley, placing 17th with a time of 2:04.87. In both events, only the top 16 advanced to the finals. Elliot, Xu, second-year Eliana Szabo, and third-year Abigael O’Donnell competed in the 200-yard medley relay and placed 27th with a time of 1:47.20.
On the second day, the same team competed in the 200-yard freestyle relay and placed 24th with a time of 1:37.12. Elliot later competed in the 100-yard butterfly preliminaries and finished 48th with a time of 57.61. In the 200-yard freestyle, Szabo placed 34th with a time of 1:53.13.
On the third day, Xu took 11th in the 100-yard backstroke after touching the wall in 55.97. In the 800-yard freestyle, the team of Xu, Elliot, O’Donnell, and Szabo finished 13th with a time of 7:33.63, breaking the school record.
On the last day, Xu earned All-American honors after placing fourth in the 200-yard backstroke. Xu also earned a new school record for the event after finishing in 1:59.27 during the preliminaries. The team of Szabo, Xu, Elliot, and O’Donnell competed in the 400-yard freestyle relay and finished in 24th place with a time of 3:31.76. The combined efforts of the Tartans earned them 29 team points and 22nd place.
Softball
On Wednesday, March 20, the Carnegie Mellon softball team headed to Waynesburg University for a doubleheader.
During the first game, the Tartans opened up scoring in the second inning thanks to a single from third-year Faith Lawrence that brought home second-year Maya Goodwin. Lawrence touched home plate after a single from third-year Libby Eichberger, making it 2-0. A home run to left field from senior Kiera Boucher in the third inning made it 3-0, and Lawrence recorded her second run batted in (RBI) of the game after a triple that scored second-year Koko Sagae. Lawrence touched home as well after a sacrifice fly from second-year Kyr Brenneman, making it 5-0. Waynesburg put one on the board in the sixth inning, but it was not enough. The Tartans won the first game of the doubleheader 5-1.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Waynesburg started off strong, bringing in six runs. The Tartans put two on the board in the fourth inning when first-year Lindsey Murai scored on a wild pitch and Boucher brought home second-year Abbey Reese with a single, making it 6-2. Waynesburg responded with another run in the bottom of the fifth, making the score 7-2 in favor of the Yellowjackets. First-year Jasmine Chao later scored off a sacrifice fly from Murai, making it 7-3, but that was not enough, and the Tartans ultimately lost.
On Saturday, March 23, the Tartans hosted Kenyon College for another doubleheader.
During the first game, the Tartans were first on the board during the second inning, recording four runs. Kenyon responded with a run of their own, but the Tartans put up four more runs and won the first game 4-1. Senior Amanda Smith recorded 15 strikeouts during this game, and second-year Kyr Brenneman recorded two RBIs.
In the second game, the Tartans recorded four runs before Kenyon scored one of their own, and the Tartans claimed the victory 8-1. The Tartans had a strong pitching game as well, with second-year Haley Pucci recording eight strikeouts. Boucher and first-year Maya Bala recorded two RBIs.
After these games, the Tartans sat at 5-5 for the season. The Tartans also took on Mount Union over the weekend, which will be in the next issue of the Tartan. The Carnegie Mellon softball team will next be taking on Emory in a four-game series from March 29 to March 31.
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