With two meets in Las Vegas over spring break and one this past weekend at Northeastern University, the women's outdoor track and field season is officially under way. Coming off a less than satisfying postseason in indoor track, the Jumbos are looking at the outdoor season as their opportunity to peak.
The two Las Vegas competitions provided a chance for the team to focus purely on training.
"We got in a good week of solid training and team bonding," sophomore Lauren Dunn said. "The meets were low key and gave everyone a chance to get adjusted early on to the outdoor track."
Though the meets were not scored, there were several impressive early season performances. Sophomore Jessica Trombly wasted no time as she qualified provisionally for Nationals in the 400 meter dash (58.17).
"It was great to qualify early on in the season. I feel like it was a combination of coming off indoor in really good shape as well as having good competition," Trombly said.
The strong sprint core continued to post impressive times. Junior co-captain Myriam Claudio placed seventh in the 100 dash (13.02) and 11th in the 200 dash (26.38), both times crossing the finish line with promising early season marks. A wrist injury has rendered Claudio unable to compete in the pole vault, but she could be back as early as next week.
Freshman Sika Henry joined Claudio in the 200 (27.65), racing to 13th place.
In the jumps, senior Sarah Leistikow leapt to a PR of 17'4'' in the long jump on her way to a third place finish.
While in Las Vegas, the team spent some time with John Powell, a world record holder in the discus. It was time well spent, as many of the throwers landed PRs. Freshman Katie Antle threw for a PR in the shot put (39'1''), good for 5th place, and sophomore Jessica Gauthier had PR's in all four of the throwing events in which she competed.
"We are doing better outdoors just because we've trained really hard and we're in good shape. A lot of people just enjoy the outdoor season more. I'm excited for season to get started," Trombly said.
At Northeastern this past weekend, some Jumbos encountered hometown competition while qualifying early for the postseason. Running essentially by herself, Dunn blew away the competition by almost two minutes in the 10,000. Her time of 40:15.24 was by far a PR and also serves as a qualifier for the Div. I Championship meet.
"The race went really well, I ran very even splits," Dunn said. "I had huge support from my teammates, which was really nice. Spring break really helped, it gave me a chance to get some mileage in and focus just on running." Trombly was another event winner, taking top billing in the 200 (26.33), an effort that also qualified her for the Div. I Championships. In addition, she leapt to fourth in the 100 high hurdles (16.25) and ran a leg of the 4x100 and the 4x400 relays. Claudio rounded out the Div. I qualifiers with her sixth place finish in the 400 (59.72).
Sophomore Sushanna Mignott raced to an eighth place finish in the 100 (13.28). In the 800 race, sophomore Lauren Caputo ran an impressive early season time of 2:25.14 en route to a seventh place finish.
In her first 1500, freshman Katie Sheedy captured eighth place with a time of 5:02.03, boding well for her future in the event. Tufts was also well represented in the steeplechase, as veteran junior Mary Nodine, senior Heather Ballantyne and sophomore Bethany Arrand competed. The trio placed third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
The throwing contingent featured Antle, who placed fifth in the shot put (37'10 '') and seventh in the discus throw (110'). Antle is in the process of learning the javelin and hammer throws to add to her arsenal. Sophomore Kate Gluckman, also a member of the women's basketball team, joined the track squad for the spring season and competed in the shot put, finishing behind Antle in sixth place (37' 7").
"At this point, we need work on the technical events, but that's typical at this point early on in the season," coach Kristen Morwick. "We are way ahead of last year due to a great week in Vegas. It's early, but in three weeks we should be ready for the NESCACs at Bates."
This weekend the Jumbos will travel to Lewiston, Maine for a meet which will feature Bates, Colby, Southern Maine, Mt. Holyoke, and Wellesley.
