Both the men and women’s track and field teams started off strong in the first team-scored event of the 2011 campaign. The season kicked off with the North Coast Athletic Conference Relay Meet on Jan. 29.

The Yeowomen put together several strong performances. In the 4×200 race, the Oberlin team featured all four classes. First-year Sophie Brancazio began the race, followed by junior Melissa Elie, senior Amanda Miller and sophomore Marissa Clardy. The quartet took first with a time of one minute, 50.1 seconds.

The Yeowomen also prevailed in the 4×400 relay. It was Clardy who led things off this time, followed by Miller, sophomore Sybil Levine and senior Laura Vernon. Their time of 4:07.61 not only won the event but was also a season best. But Oberlin wasn’t done yet. In the 1,600 sprint medley relay, Elie, Vernon, Levine and first-year sensation Molly Martorella posted a winning time of 4:24.65.

The Yeowomen saw even more success in the field. Vernon continued to impress, winning the pole vault event by clearing 10 feet, six inches. Fellow senior Melissa DeLombaert was victorious in the triple jump, with a distance of 33-00.25.

The effort wasn’t enough in the end, however, as Ohio Wesleyan edged Oberlin by a score of 107-79.

The men continued their hot start to the season, particularly in the field events. Seniors Josh Gallagher (with a huge toss of 47-08) and Jacob Fogel (38-03.25) combined to edge the competition in the shot put relay.

In the long jump relay, junior Alexander Guo continued to impress as he and junior Shawn Chrapczynski took first place. Guo’s distance of 21-00.50 was the high for the meet, while Chrapczynski posted a respectable fifth with a jump of 19-05.25.

On the track, the Yeomen were paced by several solid relay finishes. In the 4×400, the group of senior Solomon Turner, junior Peter Morris, first-year Quinn Hull and junior Reshard El-Shair combined to complete the race in a time of 3:28.96, good enough for second place.

In the 4×200, Chrapczynski, Morris, sophomore Terrance Embry and El-Shair put up a time of 1:34.20, earning them third place. A very solid overall performance from the Yeomen gave them a third-place finish, with 71.5 points. Wabash College claimed first, with 116 points.

The Oberlin track and field program saw even more success away from John W. Heisman Field House as well. Gallagher and Fogel were awarded for their winning effort in the shot put, as each athlete was named NCAC Field Athlete of the Week. On the women’s side, the 4×400 team of Clardy, Miller, Levine and Vernon was given NCAC Sprints/Hurdles Athletes of the Week honors.

The squads will split up for their next meet, with some attending the Greater Cleveland Championships on Feb. 11 and others heading to Boston, MA for the Boston University Meet held on the same day.