For the second week in a row, a mile runner stole the spotlight for the Jumbos.
Senior Sarah Crispin ran an NCAA qualifying mark of 4:57.34 at the Boston University Valentine Invitational on Saturday, surpassing her personal best by over six seconds and locking her at No. 3 in the nation and No. 2 on Tufts' all-time list.
"I didn't really think too much about the race before I started running," Crispin said. "It wasn't a championship meet, and my team wasn't relying on me to do well, so I just kind of went out there and did what I could. It was definitely a good way to end the regular season. I've been waiting to do that for while, so it was exciting for everything to finally come together."
Just two hours later, Crispin also led the 4x4 relay team, running the fastest split in the NCAA-qualifying 4x4 relay to hit 3:59 along with her teammates, juniors Kaleigh Fitzpatrick and Andrea Ferri, and sophomore Jackie Ferry.
"[Crispin] ran great," coach Kristen Morwick said. "She was in the second heat of the mile, and ended up 11th overall. Most, if not all, of the people that beat her were either Div. I, or unattached professional-type runners. She's never gone under five minutes before, and she ran the first half in 2:30, so that's a negative split on the last half, and just a phenomenal performance overall."
Although Crispin set her fair share of records on Saturday, she no longer holds the school title in the 1000 meters, as her teammate, junior Katy O'Brien, broke the record by four seconds with a 2:55.73, good for fourth place in the BU race.
Crispin and O'Brien were not the only Tufts runners to see success on Saturday, as senior Kate Makai, running the event for the first time, and sophomore Susan Allegretti both qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 1000 meters. Sophomore Aubrey Wasser also ran an indoor personal record in the 400, her 60.96 mark placing her among the event's top five fastest in New England.
Several other Jumbos surpassed their season records, including Fitzpatrick, Ferri, sophomore Halsey Stebbins, and senior Jessica Mactas in the 200, junior Anna Shih in the 800, and Fitzpatrick and junior Jenna Weir in the triple jump.
As half the team competed at the Valentine Invitational, the rest of the track and field team competed in the MIT Invitational, where senior Kenzie Rawcliffe qualified for the Div. III New England Championships in the triple jump, with a distance of 33'.
"I felt some pressure to qualify, because I'm a senior, and I just decided to start doing track a week ago after not doing it for almost a year and a half," Rawcliffe said. "I wasn't going to get too upset if I didn't qualify, because I've only had two meets, but I'm glad I qualified in something. I think it did help."
Junior Ana Hoyos narrowly missed the Div. III qualifying time in the 3000 by under three seconds as she ran her college-best in the event. Hoyos was followed by sophomores Veronica Jackson and Betsy Aronson, who both set personal records in the event. Additionally, sophomore Kate Charyk and senior Melissa Henry ran personal records in the 5000 meters, competing in the race for the first time on an indoor track.
This week, several members of the team will be preparing for the Div. III New England Championships, held next weekend at Southern Maine. Although the Jumbos will be working hard, they are making sure not to overdo their training.
"The team will start tapering now," Crispin said. "The workouts will get a little shorter and easier, and we'll start resting for the bigger meets, especially New Englands."
"I probably won't do too much," Rawcliffe said. "You don't want to be sore or tired for the meet, and there's only so much you can do. We'll try to eat healthy and get a lot of sleep, but it's mostly just about how competitive and focused you can be on that day."
