A sea of spandex colors bombarded the eyes of spectators as 72 East Coast Division III teams descended on the Gantcher Center this weekend to compete in the ECAC Championships. With a total of 29 team points, the women's track and field team ended the day in an impressive seventh place, while Wheaton College went on to capture first-place honors for the second consecutive season.
"It was a bit hectic organizing the meet, but being able to look back on the day I'm happy with the overall performance of the team," coach Kristen Morwick said.
In a heated race, the 4x400m relay team (3:59.41) finished third, just behind SUNY-Cortland and York College. Comprised of freshman Sika Henry, junior co-captain Myriam Claudio, and sophomores Emily Bersin, and Jess Trombly, the team switched up the order of the relay in an effort to clock a faster time. York College and Lincoln University jockeyed for first during most of the race, with the Jumbos sitting between the fourth and fifth position.
However, the final leg of the relay saw SUNY-Cortland and Trombly make their moves. Rounding the final corner into the last stretch the hushed silence that had dominated the reactions of the crowd for most of the race was broken as the track erupted into a cacophony of cheering and encouragement. At the finish line, the difference between the first and sixth-place teams was a mere 1.34 seconds.
"It was a little disappointing that we didn't go as fast as we hoped, but we gave it everything we had so there are no regrets. We still got a [personal record] and ran well, so we finished the season off well," Claudio said.
The only disappointing aspect of the 4x400 relay race was that the team didn't quite get the time it had hoped for. While the qualifying time of 3:56.00 was a lofty goal, the team had hoped to get a time in the 3:58.00 range, to put it higher up in the NCAA provisional list. As it stands now, the relay team is 18th on the overall combined automatic and provisional list. The top two teams on that list have already made the automatic qualifying time. That means that of the approximately nine slots available in the 4x400 relay race at the NCAA Championships, there are only about seven open slots for those on the provisional list, going to the top seven provisional teams.
As well as the 4x400 relay, Trombly (59.00) and Claudio (59.13) also competed in the 400m dash, with Trombly running in the event for the first time since mid-January. The sprinting tandem took fourth and fifth places, respectively, putting both on the NCAA provisional list, but probably not high enough for them to make the trip to Lima, Ohio next weekend.
The Distance Medley Relay (DMR) also improved on its time by almost a second on its way to a ninth-place finish and a PR. The DMR has four relay legs of varying distances, 1200m, 400m, 800m, and one mile. Sophomore Lauren Caputo battled bronchitis as she improved by three seconds (3:45) on her 1200 leg of the relay.
There was one Jumbo who jumped above and beyond expectations, literally. Entering the ECAC meet six inches behind the NCAA provisional mark, sophomore Shushanna Mignott leapt to a fourth-place finish (36' 11.75'') that included a place on the provisional list. Currently, Mignott sits at 17th on the combined list, two centimeters behind Meredith Jones of Williams College.
"Shushanna was so pumped about it," Claudio said. "She's been jumping well all season and we knew she could do it. She just got fired up and went for it."
In performances reminiscent of the Division II Championships two weeks ago, the pentathletes threw, leapt, and ran to quality finishes. Senior Sarah Leistikow (2857 points) was awarded second place for her efforts while freshman teammate Melissa Graveley (2542 points) snagged eighth place.
In the shot put, freshman Katie Antle threw 38' 2 .75'', good for a 14th-place finish, and freshman Megan McCarthy placed 12th in the 500 dash in a time of 1:22.29.
With the finish to the indoor postseason official, the Jumbos look to the outdoor season with eager anticipation. Events like the hammer throw and discus allow the throwers to perform better, and longer long distance events like the outdoor 10K instead of the indoor 5K and the steeplechase suit the squad well. Also, many of the freshmen on the team were on outdoor track teams as opposed to indoor teams in high school, so it will serve as a more familiar environment.
"We're all excited for the outdoor season. The relays can only get better and there are more events that we excel at as a team outdoors, and we'll have the 4x100 relay, which I can't wait for. It's looking to be a great season," Claudio said.
