The indoor track season got off to a running start Saturday, but for the Rensselaer men’s and women’s teams, it was more like a sprinting start. Although scores were not kept, the Red Hawks surely would have taken home both the men’s and women’s team titles in the Capital District Invitational, which they hosted in the Armory.

Combined, the men’s and women’s teams won 23 events. In many events, RPI took not only first place, but second and third as well.

In the sprints, the RPI men didn’t let the competition break into the top three places. RPI sent five sprinters to the final of the 45-meter dash, and the top three had almost identical times. Seeded first was Junior Tim Kachur (5.89 seconds), followed by two freshmen, Derek McGough (5.91) and Dan Mason (5.93). In the final, Kachur and McGough switched positions, with McGough bringing home the win for the Red Hawks in a time of 5.75 seconds.

Kachur also won the 200-meter dash (24.71), followed by sophomores Paul Salaszynk (24.96) and Max Zujewski (24.97).

RPI’s domination extended into the middle-distance track events. In the 500-meter run, the trio of Zujewski (1:11.19), Sophomore Patrick McDonald (1:11.87), and Salaszynk (1:12.19) once again put the top three positions in the RPI column. RPI opened up the lead straight from the beginning, and although a New Paltz runner tried to catch up, the Red Hawks held on for the sweep.

Six of the 10 runners in the 1000-meter run were from RPI, and the three runners from Union and one from New Paltz couldn’t compete with the red pack, led by Sophomore Mike Winnick, who won in 2:40.31. One Union runner attempted to stay with them in the beginning, but fell back later in the race.

RPI also took control of the long distance event, the 5000-meter run. RPI had only one runner finish the 28-lap race, Freshman Duane Crammond. Compared to the competition, which was mostly a sea of orange from New Paltz, Crammond had a spectacular race. He took the lead from the beginning, and by the end he had lapped everyone twice, and all but one competitor three times. After crossing the finish line, a relieved Crammond took a moment to lay down and relax before leaving the track.

Senior Bill Monette was the Red Hawk’s biggest asset in the throwing events, winning both the shot put (14.98 meters) and weight throw (13.61). Elsewhere in the field, RPI swept the triple jump and long jump. Freshman Dwaine Alleyne won the triple, jumping 13.33 meters, followed by McGough. In the long jump, Alleyne and McGough exchanged places, with McGough taking first with a 6.33-meter jump.

The RPI women’s team had just as much success as the men. The women spread their talent throughout the events, only sweeping the 1,500-meter run, the long jump, and the pole vault.But the Red Hawks’ control was evident in the team’s 11 first place finishes in 15 events.

In the throwing events, Freshman Kate Worden had a good showing. She won both the weight throw (10.82) and the shot put (10.08). Senior Nickole Nickerson added a third in the shot with 8.74-meter throw.

The Red Hawks also performed well in the jumps, sweeping the triple jump and taking first and third in the long jump. Junior Laura Rogers won the triple (9.96) and took third in the long (4.39), missing second by only a centimeter. Sophomore Melissa VanAlstine’s 4.57 meter jump earned her first in the long jump, along with a second in the triple jump (9.72). RPI also had the height, sweeping the pole vault without any competition. Freshman Allison Benson took first with a 2.9-meter vault.

On the track, the women were most successful in the middle-distance events. Senior Katie Roden led the effort, winning two races, the 1,000 and 1,500 meters. The 1,500 was a fairly easy race for her, and she had a 16-second margin over teammate Megan Hyland. That wasn’t the case in 1,000. Union’s Slabaugh came on strong in the last lap, but Roden managed to stay a few steps ahead the whole way to the finish.

In the 3,000-meter run, two RPI juniors, Jesslyn Kennedy and Allyson Soja, took the early lead and hung on to finish first and second, respectively.

Sophomore Lauren Cephas turned in two winning performances in the sprints, in the 200-meter dash (28.82) and 500-meter dash (1:23.68). Junior Jenn Amyot added two second-place finishes in the 45-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.

The men’s and women’s track teams are in action again Friday evening when they travel to the Wesleyan Invitational.