The women's indoor track team had a roaring finish to its season, placing third out of 22 teams in the New England Division III championships in late February. The outdoor team hopes to build off that success when it opens its spring season tomorrow at the Springfield Invitational.
First-year head coach Kristen Morwick has similar goals for the outdoor season as she did for indoors. Most important is challenging top contender Williams - incidentally the squad that Morwick coached last season - for the NESCAC crown, as well as improving on the team's third place finish at the indoor New England Championships.
The indoor team's achievements did not stop with its third place finish at the New England Championships - the squad also sent a strong group of runners to nationals. From that group, five women returned to Tufts as All-Americans, including senior captains Leslie Crofton (1500m) and Sarah Deeb (400m), who are once again poised to lead the squad. Senior sprinter Folake Aaron (55m hurdle) looks to continue her dominance in the hurdles. Junior Lauren Esposito and freshman standout Jessica Trombly joined forces with Crofton and Deeb to grab fifth in the distance medley relay at Nationals, and expect similar results during the outdoor season.
Morwick feels the team's strength lies in its long distance sprinters, which plays directly into the outdoor season; there are more distance races in the Spring, such as the 10,000, that are not offered in the Winter.
Morwick has high expectations for Crofton, who is a distance specialist and runs anything from the mile to the ten kilometer race. Crofton herself hopes to qualify for nationals in either the 3000 or 5000. Deeb is a long sprinter whose versatility allows her to run anywhere from the 100 to the 800. Sophomore Mary Nodine is one of the team's top middle distance runners, and hopes to make a comeback after sustaining a stress fracture. Esposito is also expected to contribute to the distance team.
Although the squad prides itself on the proficiency of its distance runners, Tufts also has hurdlers who can compete with the NESCAC's best competition. Aaron enters the season as the team's top hurdler, but will have to make the adjustment from the 55 to the 100. She will also contribute to the 4x100m hurdle relay unit, along with Trombly and sophomore Myriam Claudio. Junior Sarah Leistikow brings her multiple talents in outdoor track to the heptathalon event, where Morwick believes she can thrive.
"We are trying to carryover the indoor season to outdoor with the addition of some field events," Crofton said.
Morwick has strong triple jumpers in freshman Shushanna Mignott and senior Nadia Samadani The coach addressed her concern over a lack of throwers by recruiting three basketball players. Kate Gluckman, Erin Buckley, and Maritsa Christoudias are all freshmen, and will lead the outdoor track team in the field by throwing shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin.
Additionally, the women's team has great senior leadership in the form of Crofton, Deeb, and Aaron, along with an excellent freshman class led by Trombly.
"The team has high hopes for the outdoor season," Morwick said. "By adding some events, we will have more scorers to add on from indoor season, and should do well if we stay healthy, train well, and get help from the weather."
This weekend the team will travel to Springfield to participate in the Springfield Invitational to kick off the season.
