In the last regular season meet of the outdoor season, the women's track and field team ended the day with 230 points and a commanding victory at the Silfen Invitational, hosted by Connecticut College.
With the NESCAC championships taking place this weekend, the performance was enough to keep the team's confidence high. It was also accomplished without straining the team's resources.
"We placed first without having to put lots of people in multiple events. People performed really well and it turned out to be a great team effort," senior co-captain Lauren Esposito said.
The Conn. College Camels finished closest to the Jumbos with a total of 135 team points. The seven other teams competing ended the day more than 100 points behind Tufts.
The Jumbos saw contributions in a variety of different events, including a thrilling performance by the 4x100m relay team. The team's first-place finish of 49.82 set a season PR and seeded it first in the NESCAC championships.
The 4x100 team - comprised of junior co-captain Myriam Claudio, sophomores Shushanna Mignott and Jessica Trombly, and freshman Ayako Sawanobori - finished the race a full two seconds faster than the second place finisher and just tenths of a second shy of the national provisional qualifying mark.
"Our goal was to break 50, which we did. We had good weather conditions and smooth hand-offs and were really happy with the time," Sawanobori said. "However, we think we can go faster with better competition and hopefully make the national provisional time."
Each member of the relay also tallied points in individual events. Mignott sprinted for a PR in the 100m (12.98), good for third place, and leapt to second in the triple jump (35' 1''). Claudio (59.97) and Sawanobori (1:02.01) both posted PRs in the 400 en route to first and fifth place finishes in the race. Freshman Sika Henry completed the 400 triple threat as she finished third in the event in a time of 1:01.11.
Trombly won the 100 high hurdles (15.42) and in the process qualified for the Division I New England meet. Sophomore Amy Spiker (16.93) and senior Sarah Leistikow (16.99) finished fifth and sixth in the 100 hurdles. The trio also had a banner day in the jumps, tallying key points for the Jumbos.
Spiker placed second in the high jump with a 4' 11.5" effort, while Leistikow (17' 4.25") and Trombly (16' 9.75") went one-two in the long jump. Leistikow won the event with one of the best jumps of her career.
Rounding out a successful day in the hurdles was sophomore Emily Bersin's effort in the 400m hurdles competition. Bersin leapt her way to second place (1:07) for a PR that launched her into the Division I meet.
In the 1500 race, sophomore Lauren Caputo ran a substantial PR as she broke five minutes in the event. Caputo crossed the finish line in third place with a time of 4:57.97. Other Jumbos went the distance, including freshman Lauren Dunn (18:59.60) and senior Heather Ballantyne (19:38.16), who ended up in the second and fourth positions in the 5000 run. Sophomore Bethany Arrand represented the team in the 3000 steeplechase, taking second in a time of 12:09.17.
The team's throwers, who have consistently improved this season, turned in impressive performances and could make a big scoring impact next weekend.
Sophomore Jessica Gauthier's 120' hurl in the hammer throw was a 12' PR and one foot shy of the school record. Gauthier finished fourth in the hammer, and also qualified for ECACs with her 110' 4'' effort in the discus that landed her in sixth place.
The discus proved a fruitful event for the Jumbos as sophomore Kate Gluckman and freshman Katie Antle posted significant PRs. Gluckman (122' 2''), who qualified for Division I, and Antle (118' 5"), who made the ECAC cut-off, garnered second and third places. The duo also combined for second and third in the shot put - Gluckman at 37' 6.75'' and Antle at 37' 6''.
"Heading into NESCACs our biggest competition is going to be Colby as they have a very powerful throwing squad that has potential for scoring high points," Claudio said. "With our throwers throwing so well, though, they could possibly provide enough competition to break up that scoring threat."
Assistant coach Sarah Deeb, a former team member, said the meet "went really well. The team had a lot of great performances. Most importantly, the meet gave our team some positive momentum going into NESCACs, our most important team meet of the season."
At the Bates-hosted NESCACs, the Jumbos are looking to improve upon last year's disappointing fifth-place finish and are in a position to do so. While Williams looks unbeatable, the women are eyeing the second spot, and will vie with strong squads such as Colby and Wesleyan.
"We're gunning for second and I think we're in a position where we can do it, if everyone performs where they can and where they have been so far this season," Deeb said. "The competition at the meet will be great, so I can imagine we will get some qualifiers for Division I, ECACs, and Division III's in the process, and possibly get some people to Nationals."
