Tufts track and field opens season in good form

The women's track and field team's season is in full swing after it traveled to Brunswick, Maine for the annual Bowdoin Invitational last weekend. Tufts placed third with 89 points, just one point behind second-place Merrimack and more than 100 points away from winner MIT (203 points). The team had officially opened their season when four Jumbos competed at the Dartmouth Relays on Jan. 10, tying for 17th, and the rest of the team began its season by finishing in a solid second place at home at the Tufts Invitational on Jan. 16.

Of course, in the sport of track and field, early-season victories are not too crucial to a team's overall success come the end of the campaign. So the fact that the Jumbos are still shaking the rust off and getting back into racing on a weekly basis is no cause for concern -- especially given the strong performances they've received from a number of athletes.

At Bowdoin on Saturday, many of coach Kristen Morwick's athletes had the day off, but most others came in ready to perform.

The highlight of the day for Tufts came in the 60-meter dash in a performance from senior quad-captain Alexis Harrison. Harrison ran 7.75 seconds in the final, breaking her school record that she set two years ago by 0.03 seconds. That year, Harrison also traveled to outdoor nationals as a qualifier in the 100 meter dash, meaning this result at Bowdoin could be a sign of big things to come. Harrison was also seventh in the high jump at 4 ft. 11.75 in. and first in the long jump at 17 ft. 8.25 in.

"It feels amazing to break the school record again and see times like that this early in the season," Harrison said. "In past seasons, it's taken me a while to get to the point where I'm running PR's but for it to be this early is really relieving and exciting."

Senior quad-captain Marilyn Allen, Tufts' best 60-meter hurdler of all time and a premier 200 runner, also competed well. Allen placed third in the 60 meter hurdles, running 9.24 in her season hurdle debut to qualify herself for the Div. III New England and Open New England meets. She also placed fifth in the 200 meters, running 27.58 seconds in a rust-buster.

Sophomore Julia Prusaczyk also took home a W with her win in the 600-meter run, clocking in at 1:40.07. Prusaczyk crossed the line over four seconds ahead of second-place, Merrimack first-year Margaret Byrne. Prusaczyk's wide margin of victory in the 600 was telling of her strong level fitness compared to the rest of the field.

The distance runners also turned in solid performances on the track. The juniors and seniors displayed their fitness while the first-years and sophomores once again proved that the future for Tufts track and field is bright.

In the 800 meters, first-year Julia Noble placed fifth in a strong field, running a time of 2:24.74. First-year Livvy Barnett also had a solid day, taking fourth in the mile in 5:19.89, while seniors Lily Corcoran and Michele de Mars placed seventh and eighth in 5:24.55 and 5:24.76 respectively. The Jumbos also scored four runners in the 3,000 meters. Sophomore Brittany Bowman had an impressive showing, practically soloing herself to a 10:29.92 second place PR in the race after MIT's Maryann Gong, a multiple time All-American, took off and finished nearly 50 seconds ahead of her.

Sophomores Eliza Lawless, Margot Rashba and Olivia Nicholson (who was returning from an injury that kept her out of the cross country season) also ran well, placing fourth through sixth in 10:38.77, 10:39.00 and 10:39.55, respectively. Senior quad-captain Sydney Smith also got after it in the 1,000, taking fourth in 3:04.63.

The team also showed some serious promise in the field events. Junior Keren Hendel placed sixth in the pole vault, launching herself over the bar at 10 feet even. Senior Mary Ellen Caruso took the victory by an inch in the triple jump, bounding out 35 ft., 6.75 in. And first-year Brita Dawson was sixth in the high jump, just missing the five foot barrier with her 4 ft. 11.75 in clearance.

"It has been really good so far," Dawson said about her time on the team at this point. "I really like all of the people on the team and I’m excited to get to know everyone better as the season progresses. The level of competition is different from high school which pushes me to work harder."

"I’ve had more time to build up strength and focus on specific events this year than I did in high school," she added. "I haven’t been performing as well as I would like, but it’s early in the season so there’s still time. I hope I can hit some PRs this season and qualify for the post-season meets."

The Jumbos saw strong performances from their veterans the weekend before at the Tufts Invitational. Among the highlights was senior Audrey Gould's return to the team after spending last spring studying abroad, punctuated by her 5:16.21 time in the mile to put her at 24th on the national list. Seniors Olivia Beltrani and Caruso also broke the top 30 nationally with their performances in the 3000 meters and the triple jump, respectively.

Tufts also took home wins in the 1000 meters -- courtesy of Noble -- and in the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays.

In the much less competitive official season opener at Dartmouth on Jan. 10, Smith was the lone point scorer among the four Jumbos competing, taking sixth in the 3000 meters.

Harrison believes the full squad is already shaping into a well-oiled NESCAC machine, even with its 15 first-years.

"I think the team is looking really great this year," she said. " I'm seeing a lot of hard work and effort put forth in practice and the attitude overall is one of a team that's ready to prove itself in every aspect. The [first-years] are showing a lot of potential and passion which is really refreshing. You can definitely tell that they want to make an impact on the team and are prepared to work hard in order to do so."

The Jumbos will return to action next weekend, as some athletes will compete at Boston University's John Thomas Invitational, while most others will be back at Gantcher for the Stampede Invitational.

"We have a handful of athletes competing at BU and the rest at Tufts," Harrison said. "Some of the BU competitors will come back to compete again at Tufts the next day. The plan for next week is to build on this great momentum that we have going right now. As always, we want to stay focused and driven towards our goals."