Three members of the indoor season's Distance Medley Relay team were up to their usual antics this weekend, stealing the spotlight once again for the Jumbo squad, this time on the outdoor track at UMass-Lowell's Davis Invitational.
With senior tri-captain Sarah Crispin's win in the 1,500 meter, junior Cat Beck's first-place showing in the 800 meter and junior Kaleigh Fitzpatrick's victories in the 200- and 400-meter runs, the team combined for four of Tufts' five first-place victories on Saturday.
Even though she typically does not compete in the 800-meter, Beck hit the NCAA provisional qualifying standard with a time of 2:14.46.
"I was really excited with my race because it's not an event that I normally do," Beck said. "I've been trying it out a little bit to just do something different and work on my speed. It was really fun and it was great to have people right around me all race long. It really helped to motivate me and give me that extra push."
Returning from a five-week absence due to injury, Crispin also turned in an impressive performance, pacing the field with a time of 4:52.68 in the 1,500-meter and qualifying for the Div. III New England Championships and the ECAC Championships. Crispin was accompanied by sophomore Jackie Ferry, who also bounced back from an injury this week.
"They're both getting there," Beck said. "We're really excited to have both of them back with us more often. They'll keep getting back into things and work on getting healthy. Hopefully we'll have them back in full force very soon."
Fitzpatrick captured the top spot in both the 200 and 400, winning the races with times of 27.04 seconds and 60.68 seconds, respectively. Freshman Andrea Ferri trailed just behind Fitzpatrick in the 200 meter, taking second with a mark of 27.17 seconds.
Junior Sarah Martin provided the Jumbos' final first-place victory, winning the hammer throw with a commanding toss of 135 feet to beat out Div. II Stonehill freshman Meghan Rocha by 21 feet.
Despite unfavorable weather conditions, the Tufts team also saw a few personal record-breaking performances, including those of Ferri in the 100-meter, freshman Kerry Virgien in the 400-meter hurdles, and freshman Julia Feltus in the hammer and javelin throws. Junior Jenna Weir also contributed a season-best mark in the triple jump, going 35'2''.
"It was definitely colder than would have been ideal, so I think that made the times a little slower," senior Melissa Henry said. "We talked about it at our team meeting, and I think we were prepared for it to be a little colder and windier, so it didn't throw us off too much."
"Outdoor conditions are always an issue," senior tri-captain Kate Makai said. "That's the nature of outdoor track. There's wind, there's rain, there's cold, and it's tough to deal with that stuff, but you really just have to put it out of your mind on race day and know that everyone is dealing with the same conditions. It's all about who can step up in those conditions because everyone is dealing with them."
The Jumbos fought through the bad weather, ending the day successfully against a number of Div. II competitors.
"It was an interesting meet," Beck said. "It was mostly a Div. II meet, so we definitely saw a lot of different people who we don't see every weekend, which is always fun. Anytime that you get the opportunity to compete with different people it's good because it gives you more experience. Just going out there and maybe not knowing your competitors as well, you have to be able to react quickly and adjust to the situation."
"We stacked up well against the Div. II teams," Makai said. "We don't really consider that when we go into a meet - we just go to compete against whoever is there, and the more competitive the teams are, the better because that will push us to perform better."
The Jumbos are gearing up for the end to a short regular outdoor season at this weekend's MIT Invitational. Although it will mark their last opportunity to qualify for the postseason, the Tufts runners aren't overly concerned.
"I think that once we start to taper, people know that times are going to come," Henry said. "I don't think people are too worried about it, but I think it's definitely in the back of everyone's heads, knowing what times they have to hit."
"I think we're all very aware of what our qualifiers are in our individual events," Beck said. "We're trying to keep tabs on what our teammates are trying to achieve as well to try to help them along the way. We all want to do our very best and do whatever is best for the team."
