Battling the elements in another unseasonably inclement competition, the women's track and field team capitalized where they could at the NESCAC Championship meet on April 27 and 28 at Bates College. Snow, sleet, rain and hail tried to temper the women's resolve, but Mother Nature proved no match for the will of the Jumbos. The squad entered the meet with a goal of bettering last season's fifth place finish and achieved that goal by placing second overall.
"We wanted second in our conference and the result was a total team effort to achieve our goal," coach Kristen Morwick said. "Everyone showed a lot of guts and heart and pulled it together without a lot of complaint and with a lot of Tufts pride."
In a meet where every point counted, the squad came through when in the clutch. The top three final team standings saw Williams College in first with 208.5 points, and Tufts (101) and Colby College (98) separated by only three points. The weekend's events were marked by stellar individual performances, some expected and some pleasant surprises.
As a familiar face in the leader spots this season, sophomore Jessica Trombly didn't disappoint when the pressure was on and the conditions less than optimal. During the first day of competition Trombly aggravated a hamstring injury that could have rendered her unfit to compete for the remainder of the weekend.
She competed, however, in all the events she was slated for and accounted for an astounding 32 team points. Trombly's points came from first place finishes in the long jump (16' 3.75''), 100 meter hurdles (15.82), as well as third place finishes in the 400 dash (59.08) and the 4x100 relay (49.74).
"Her performances given her injury were unbelievable. She is a true competitor and a true team player and it was amazing to watch," Morwick said.
Trombly's teammates in the sprint events also put forth impressive performances. Junior co-captain Myriam Claudio garnered second place in the 100 dash (13.07) and third in the 200 dash (26.59). Claudio was joined by sophomore Shushanna Mignott in the 100 dash, as Mignott placed one spot back with a time of 13.16. Mignott also leapt to eighth in the triple jump, in a jump measured at 36' 1.25."
Sophomore Emily Bersin had one of the surprise performances in the 400 hurdles towards the end of the meet. Entering the race Bersin was seeded eighth, but when the race was over she had captured third place. The time of 1:06.09 was a PR for Bersin and provided the Jumbos with much needed points.
During the last lap and a half of the steeplechase race, junior Mary Nodine had a huge surge that made for another exciting finish. Nodine's last minute kick propelled her past a few runners and pushed her into seventh place. The time of 11:42.79 posted by Nodine was also a new school record in the 3000 steeplechase.
"We pushed through some crazy weather, especially since we were jumping into pits of water while it was essentially snowing out," Nodine said. "We were one of the toughest teams out there and we came in second, I was very impressed with how people did."
Senior Sarah Leistikow finished two slots behind Trombly in the long jump (15' 11.75''), and also notched a second place finish in the heptathlon (3725 points). Freshman Melissa Graveley racked up 3578 points for a seventh place finish, and sophomore Amy Spiker took eighth with 3466 points. The trio of heptathletes accrued 11 essential team points over two days of competition.
The throwing contingent marked the meet with a set of solid performances across all events. The duo of sophomore Kate Gluckman and freshman Katie Antle performed well in the shot put and discus events. Gluckman finished fifth in the shot put (38' 9'') with Antle finishing a place behind and throwing two inches shorter. In the discus, Gluckman had a substantial PR with her lob of 125' as she captured sixth.
Sophomore Maritsa Christoudias (106' 6'') and junior Danielle Perrin (100' 3'') represented the team well in the javelin, placing fifth and eighth respectively.
"The entire season is filled with memorable moments, but I think the best one was to know that at the end of NESCACs, we had accomplished what coach Morwick had known all along that we could do - get second place as a team," Claudio said.
Looking ahead, the Jumbos have the Div. I Championships May 10-11 at Northeastern, ECACs on the following weekend at Springfield College, and Nationals. There are a few Jumbos who have qualified provisionally for the Nationals meet. These athletes include: Trombly in the heptathlon and the 400, Nodine in the steeplechase, and as member of the 4x400 relay team, comprised of Claudio, Trombly, freshman Sika Henry, and Bersin. The coming weeks could see more people qualify for Nationals or see those who have qualified provisionally make the automatic cut.
Morwick says she has no doubt that the Jumbos' future is bright. "We will continue to grow and improve. The team will be more mature, polished, and composed in the coming year. We're a pretty young team with lots of potential and we look even better for next year," Morwick said.
