Women's track and field takes 2nd at Branwen Smith-King Invitational

In the third annual Branwen Smith-King Invitational at the Gantcher Center over the weekend, the women's track team placed second out of 22 teams in team scoring. Several individual athletes placed in the top five, including victories in the 600 meters, 800 meters and 3,000 meters races.

At the end of the day, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) won the meet with 143 points and Tufts placed second with a total of 114 points. Other than losing to the local rival Engineers, the Jumbos were pleased with their performance in the meet.

“The team is always disappointed to lose to MIT,” sophomore Danielle Page, who placed at the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships in November, said. “We rested a lot of our jumpers this week who always heavily contribute to our team's overall score. Place aside, lots of people had personal bests in their events and so that is what we celebrate.”

In the 3,000 meters, Page ran a 10:06.80 to win the race. Her time ranks No. 17 nationally. Racing for the first time since December, Page was excited to get back on the track.

“It felt good to take first in the 3K,” Page said. “I haven’t raced since December so it felt a little strange to be running on the track again, but all things considered I am certainly happy with how it went for an opening race.”

Senior Sabrina Gornisiewicz, who placed 27th at the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships, also competed in the 3,000 meters and ran a 10:10.19 to finish in fourth place.

Tufts dominated the 600 meters, as sophomore Hannah Neilon, senior co-captain Julia Gake and sophomore Luana Machado all placed in the top four.Neilon won with a time of 1:38.27, as Gake finished in 1:38.71 for third place and Machado finished in 1:39.93 for fourth place.

In the 800 meters, sophomore Tara Lowensohn took first with a time of 2:20.04, which currently ranks No. 37 in the nation. And, in the 1,000 meters, junior Emily Murray took third with a time of 3:09.53.

In the one mile run, senior co-captain Rhemi Toth finished in fifth place with a time of 5:09.03. Following directly behind Toth was sophomore Anna Slager, who ran a 5:09.52 for sixth place. Their times are currently ranked No. 26 and 28 in the nation, respectively.

The Jumbos also saw success in the 4 x 400 meters relay. The relay squad, consisting of Gake, Machado, Neilon and first-year Campbell Devlin, took second in the race with a time of 4:04.38.

In the field events, the Jumbos also excelled. Sophomore Kathryn Ezeoha posted a 36’ 6 ¼” leap for third place in the triple jump, a personal record.

"At first I didn’t even realize that I set a PR, but I’m happy to see that I’m still improving and hope to improve even more this season," Ezeoha said.

First-year Lia Rotti placed second place in the pole vault at 11’ 1 ¾", while junior Nkem Aduka set a personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 42’ 7”.

Ezeoha echoed Page's sentiment, but believes the team could have placed better in the team scoring if they invested more athletes into the field events.

"I know the team is proud of our achievements, but many of us believe that we had a good shot at coming in first if more of our athletes had competed in the field events at this meet," Ezeoha said. "Many competed in the pentathlon or short sprints events and did not want to wear themselves out, which I think was a good choice in the long run."

With their strong performances so far during this indoor season, the Jumbos are satisfied, but are also looking towards the bigger goals at the end of the season.

“I think the season is going well,” Page said. “We brought in a lot of talented first years and our returners have been improving. It’s still early, but I think we are looking good to place high at our championship meet later in the season as well as hopefully send a sizable group to the NCAA national championship in North Carolina over spring break.”

Next week, the Jumbos are back in action as they host at the Gantcher Center for the second weekend in a row, with the annual Cupid Challenge.