This Saturday the women's indoor track and field team will officially begin its season at the Husky Track and Field Carnival at Northeastern at 10 am. The Jumbos are anticipating another strong season after finishing third in New England as a team last year.
At the helm this year is coach Kristen Morwick, in her first season of coaching at Tufts. Additional leadership will come from senior tri-captains Leslie Crofton, Sarah Deeb, and Megan Thurber.
This may be Morwick's first year as a Jumbo, but she has a long background in the sport of track and field. Morwick spent her last four seasons coaching both cross-country and track at Williams College, where she helped lead one of Tufts' fiercest NESCAC rivals to a third-place national finish last fall. Prior to her work at Williams, Morwick spent her first six years at Tufts as the assistant coach behind Branwen Smith-King.
"We have similar coaching philosophies," Morwick said. "We did the same events when we participated in track and field." Morwick, however, plans to modify some of the coaching techniques in a way that best suits her style.
"The focus will not be on winning every meet," Morwick said. "Instead I will be pointing out a few key times to peak as either an individual or as a team. Also, a main goal is that the team will not rely on just one or two kids - I am going to race people less so they will not be spread so thin so as to avoid injury. For example, I may only race the distance squad every other week because they just came off the cross-country season. Lastly, for this first meet, I am just asking the kids who wants to compete. This way there is no pressure."
Morwick has also decided to train and work more closely with the men's track team than in past years. "We may or may not divide up the coaching responsibilities. There may be a cross-over of coaching as a way to pool the responsibilities because we spread ourselves over five event groups and about 50 kids per team, if not more."
The vacated spots left by seniors who graduated, especially the captains, will be some large holes to fill. The trio of Melissa Bargmann, Molly Frank-Metlzer, and Caitlin Murphy were a strong group on and off the track.
"Missy Bargmann did all ten events last year," Morwick said. "Caitlin Murphy was a National Champion. We will miss the points that they put on the board, but we have a talented group of girls coming back. The entire DMR (distance medley relay) team, that placed third at Nationals last year, will be returning."
Not only does the squad have the DMR squad returning, but also the Brown and Blue is welcoming 23 freshmen onto the team. Giving the team a total of a squad of 49 girls.
"We have a pretty good group," Morwick said. "But, honestly, I don't expect much from the freshmen. In the distance group, there were three freshmen that placed in the top seven in cross-country. They will all do well in track."
In a sport where seconds can mean the difference between first place and last, spending only hours together can make an enormous difference. Morwick hopes that most of the indoor team will be running outdoor track in the spring, keeping the squad together even longer. Because they spend so much time together not only training, but also hanging out together during free time, the bond that the girls make is one that only strengthens their performances in meets.
This year's team is very optimistic in both track, as well as, field events. Nationally, the DMR team wants to win it all. Coach Morwick puts faith behind Leslie Crofton in the 5K and Sarah Deeb in the 400. On the field side, the Jumbos have recruited a few great throwers. "Unfortunately," Morwick said. "It hurts us that three of our throwers are playing basketball this winter."
Morwick has high expectations for the season due to the great talent on her team. "Looking at the talent and hoping that people stay healthy," Morwick said. "We can be in the top five in New England. We have the talent to be very competitive and we have a very balanced team. There were nine Jumbos that went to the Nationals last year, and all but one came back an All-American. This year I hope to either meet that number or exceed it."
