Junior Catherine Beck stole the show for the Jumbo runners this weekend at the BU Terrier Classic, taking seventh place in the 5000-meter run, and anchoring the distance medley relay team with a 4:59 mile, the fastest DMR time in the country this season, and the second fastest in Tufts history.
With her 5k mark of 16:42.23, currently the best in the country, Beck automatically qualified for nationals, breaking her own personal record by nearly 30 seconds and setting a new Tufts record in the process.
"I've just developed more as a distance runner," Beck said. "My training has been more geared to longer distances and more endurance in general. Knowing I had that behind me, I was able to just go on the track and be as confident as possible and pull together the best race I could."
"It's just a huge race for her - an incredible effort," coach Kristen Morwick said. "She went through the mile at 5:18, and basically stayed at that pace. It will be a long time before that school record goes down again. She came back the very next day to anchor the distance medley coming off of running late the day before, so it was just two awesome performances."
Beck was joined in the DMR relay by senior Sarah Crispin on the 1200 leg, junior Kaleigh Fitzpatrick on the 400 leg and sophomore Jackie Ferry on the 800 leg. Ferry proved a worthy substitute for junior Katy O'Brien, who was unable to run due to minor injuries sustained on Friday during the one mile run, when she and teammate Crispin got tangled up during the race.
"Katy was kind of banged up, so they put Jackie in the 800 leg," Beck said. "We kind of just tried to see where we thought we could pull runners from to try to get a qualifying time for later in the season, and she did a great job."
The Jumbos saw several other notable performances at BU this weekend. 200-meter runners sophomore Halsey Stebbins, Fitzpatrick, freshman Andrea Ferri, sophomore Aubrey Wasser and senior Jessica Mactas all ran season-best times and qualified for New Englands.
Additionally, sophomore Katie Rizzolo broke her personal record by over 20 seconds in the 5k, where her time of 18:20.04 qualified her for the All-New England Championships.
As if that was not enough, the 4x400 relay team of Fitzpatrick, Ferry, Wasser and Ferri came in 8th with a season-best time of 4:01.30.
Overall, the meet was largely successful for the Jumbos, who attributed some of their success to the high level of competition at the meet.
"It's a very competitive meet with Division I schools," Crispin said. "It's definitely a place you go to run fast times, so in a way it's a little more exciting than some of our other regular season meets just because you know you're up against some really good competition. Running with anyone better than you helps you improve your performance."
"It's a really great opportunity," Beck added. "We're very lucky to get the chance to go. When you get to compete with people who have a lot more race experience, it definitely puts what you're doing into perspective and helps you stay calm even in the moments that are very challenging. When you're stacked up against girls that talented, it really eases your mind later in the season."
The Jumbos had a tougher time at the Bowdoin Invitational on Saturday, finishing last, behind MIT, Bowdoin, and Colby. Despite the disappointing overall performance, Tufts still boasted impressive individual performances. For the second week in a row, freshman Logan Crane took the titles in both the 55 meter and the long jump. Crane currently ranks first in New England in the 55 meter and is within the top three in the long jump.
"She comes in as our fastest sprinter," Morwick said. "Some of her times in high school would put her at the top of our all-time list at Tufts. She tore her hamstring last winter and didn't run outdoor track, and for her it's been a slow start, but obviously she's one of the best. She's fighting through that injury to be healthy again and trying to get back up to full speed, but I think she's going to be really good for her four years at Tufts. She's a real talent."
Several Jumbos also set season and personal bests. Senior Maggie Clary qualified for New Englands in the 800-meter run with a season-best 2:26.89, while Mactas posted season and college bests in both the 55 meter and the long jump. Both junior Ana Hoyos and sophomore Betsy Aronson also set personal records in the 3000-meter run.
Juniors Joyce Uang and Jenna Weir both excelled in field events, as Uang won the high jump and Weir placed third in the long jump and second in the triple jump, posting two new season highs. Additionally, freshman Kerry Virgien's weekend performances in the 800-meter run, the high jump, the long jump, the shot put, and the 55-meter hurdles qualified her for the pentathlon.
The Jumbos look to continue their success this Saturday, when they resume competition at home for the third Tufts Invitational, held at the Gantcher center.
