Jumbos pull the rug over the Polar Bears

A trip to Brunswick, ME proved fruitful for the women's track and field team at the Bowdoin Invitational last Saturday. Beating out second place Bowdoin by 93 points, the 256 points garnered by the squad gave it a commanding first place finish in a field of five teams. Though the Polar Bears usually prove a tough opponent for the Jumbos, this was not the case this time around.

"People are a year better and we added a bunch of new people," coach Kristen Morwick said. "We have a lot more depth this year and a stronger team overall, the kids that are coming back are performing better."

The stark contrast between the performance of the team this year compared to last season demonstrated the improvements the Jumbos have made in a year. At this time last year, the Jumbos were swept in the mile as Bowdoin took first through fourth places. However, junior Lauren Caputo (5:19.12), senior Danielle Perrin (5:23.43) and freshman Elyse Archila (5:30.89) ensured that the team would not fall to the same fate this time around. The trio placed second, fourth, and fifth respectively, with both Caputo and Perrin snagging PR's in the process.

Perrin and Caputo also came back to perform in the 3000meter , with Perrin placing second in 10:51.09 and Caputo following one place behind in 10:54.74. In the 1000, sophomore Katie Sheedy (3:08.86) and senior Kristen Munson (3:12.16) both qualified through ECAC's on their way to third and fourth places. Freshman Becca Ades was seventh in the same race and qualified for the Div III championship meet with her time of 3:15.75.

"We just had more depth, whereas they had a few standouts, but you need more than that to win a meet," Perrin said. "We buried them. We beat them last year too, but not so easily. It's a testament to how much people have improved and how good the freshman class is."

In the 800, junior Jessica Trombly once again had a stellar performance, reaching a national qualifying mark at 2:15.17, and posting the top time in the country by a full two seconds. Five minutes after running a blistering 800, Trombly went on to compete in, and win, the long jump with a leap of 16' 2.5''. As has been a theme throughout the season, Trombly emerged victorious in three events, with the 55 hurdles (8.79) completing the triumphant trio.

Other multi-event athletes had successful outings as well. Junior Amy Spiker (9.51) and sophomore Melissa Graveley (9.58) joined Trombly in the finals of the 55 hurdles in fifth and sixth places. Both qualified for the Div III championship meet in the event. Graveley also went on to win the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 5' 1'' to clinch the win and set a PR.

In the sprints, Rachel Bloom ran away with the 55 with a time of 7.62. The 200 saw a solid Jumbo contingent of sophomores Claudia Clarke (27.82) and Ayako Sawanobori (28.29) and freshmen Molly Whittington (28.82) and Katie Gadkowski (28.89) clinch the second through fifth spots. Clarke's time met the qualifying mark for the Div III meet.

"Overall it was a great meet. Every end of things is contributing," Morwick said.

In the throws, sophomore Jessica Colby had PR's in both the weight throw (39' 7'') and the shot put (35' 10''), en route to fifth place in each event. Sophomore Katie Antle had another banner day in the shot put, winning the event with a lob of 41' 6''. Junior tri-captain Jessica Gauthier was the top Jumbo finisher in the weight throw with her toss of 42' 3.5'' putting her third overall.

All three relays took the top spots, with the 4x400 team logging its best time of the season by a delta of four seconds. Sophomore Sika Henry contributed to the speedy 4x400 relay with an impressive leg.

This weekend will see Tufts play host to another slew of track aficionados at the Gantcher Center. Of particular interest will be Wheaton College, the defending National Champions in Div III, and a track and field foe to be reckoned with.

"Bowdoin [Invitational] is a meet we treat as a dual meet, one that we look to win every year. However, this week will be different as we're focused more on qualifying than for gunning for one team. People are going to be running in events they want to qualify in," Perrin said.