According to thrower Chelsea Groves (senior), the supportive atmosphere and sideline participation at the dual was a factor in the team’s success.
“The overall atmosphere was really cool this past weekend,” Groves said. “The running events had finished up a little bit earlier than us, as the throwing events were running a little bit late. So they actually came over and supported us as we were throwing, and it’s just always cool when you’re able to get those people there.”
Groves finished first in women’s shot put with a throw of 11.95 meters, about a foot behind the previous meet record set by Kelly Young in 2010. Groves also secured first place in women’s hammer throw.
Sprinters Shane Kawakami-Williams (sophomore) and Zachary McGraw (sophomore) scored first and second in the men’s 100-meter dash, coming in at 10.9 and 10.92 seconds, respectively. Both bested the previous meet record of 10.96 seconds.
According to McGraw, the team was hungry for victory after their loss to the Sagehens at the same meet a year ago.
“It was a really good atmosphere,” McGraw said. “I think since we lost last year, we really wanted to win it this year. We have the Pomona-Oxy invite every single year as the opening meet, and it was my first meet ever as a college student last year. And we lost — barely — which was pretty annoying. So this year, that was definitely our main goal coming into the season, just as an early benchmark of where we’re at.”
According to Kawakami-Williams, friendly competition between himself and McGraw was instrumental in the pair’s record-breaking sprints.
“Me and my boy, Zach, we saw the meet record and we both wanted it, so that was one of our goals,” Kawakami-Williams said. “The other one was just to beat Pomona. I think we both know that we’re fast and we’re both around similar speed, so we both went out there and we raced and it was close.”
Courtesy of Julietta SeirmarcoSprinter Elizabeth Hawley (junior) won the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 12.73 seconds. Hawley said she was confident in her ability to win based on her competition’s personal records and was enthusiastic about the rapidity of the event.“The 100 is super fun, it’s super quick,” Hawley said. “You’re done in a little over 10 seconds. So I get a lot less stressed than running a 400, which is like, sprinting all-out hard for a lap. And then after the race, my teammates are super supportive […] no matter what. So I got a high five — a few high fives.”
In light of his recent success, Kawakami-Williams said his goal is to win a race at this year’s SCIAC championships.
“I got three silver medals last year, so it’s time to finally win,” Kawakami-Williams said. “And [I want] our team, our four by one, at least once to qualify for nationals. I want to do a lot of things this semester that we didn’t do last year.”
McGraw said he aims to run a 10.4-second 100 meter dash this season.
“That’s kind of my main track goal this year,” McGraw said. “And then kind of help out any way I can with the team. I know I’m going to be running a lot of relays, and then hopefully we can win the four by one in conference this year. We got second last year — Pomona beat us. We’re on a good track right now, but I’m hoping we can win a lot in SCIACs. I’m pretty optimistic.”
Hawley said she is excited for the rest of the semester and for the camaraderie between everyone on the team.
“I always feel really good about the team,” Hawley said. “They are unconditionally supportive, always fun to be around. Everyone’s super close, super supportive and everyone’s always hanging out across events.”
According to Groves, a shared attitude to strive for better results has given the team a major boost.
“These next few years, this season — it’s all gonna be really amazing, and it’s all in reflection of the hard work we’ve put in and practiced in the weight room, the research, the film — everything that we’ve done to prepare ourselves for these meets,” Groves said.
Contact Caden Zamastil at zamastil@oxy.edu.
