The All-New England Championships provide an opportunity for the women's track and field team to compete against some of the best athletes in New England, spanning Div. I to Div. III, and often result in personal or season-best times. Even with only a few athletes competing, the Jumbos did not disappoint.
The University of Connecticut, a Div. I program, dominated the meet this past weekend, finishing in first place with 186 points. The runner-up was another Div. I school — Southern Connecticut State with 52 points. Tufts finished well behind with 8.5 points.
The Jumbos were not aiming for a team victory in the meet but instead looked to improve on individual performances. Junior Nakeisha Jones improved her national qualifying mark by triple jumping 38-3 1/2. The result leaves her ranked seventh nationally, with only one more weekend left to hit qualifying marks. Fellow junior Heather Theiss also had a great performance in the pole vault, and while her mark of 11-6 1/2 barely missed the provisional height, it was a personal best and a school record. Theiss finished tied for sixth in the competition.
The Jumbos were able to grab a provisional qualifier in one of only three events on the track that they competed in. With senior Amy Wilfert unavailable for the meet, the Distance Medley Relay team was not able to compete at full strength. However, the 4x400 relay team was able to pick up the slack and run an impressive time. The foursome of sophomore Alyssa Corrigan, senior tri-captain Kanku Kabongo, junior Dayorsha Collins and freshman Jana Hieber ran a season-best 3:55.98. Because of the conversion used for banked tracks, the NCAA converted the result to 3:57.58 for qualifying purposes, a time that is well under the provisional mark of 3:59.50. Yet the foursome is still on the bubble to earn a spot at nationals.
"We were all very happy because not only did we hit the provisional mark, but we also ran a time that will get us into a competitive heat next weekend," Corrigan said. "That will be helpful in trying to better our time and giving us a chance to travel to Nationals."
The Jumbos have shown a lot of depth this year at the 400-meter distance, and that provides a lot of flexibility for coach Kristen Morwick in picking the relay legs.
"The team that ran this Saturday represents just one of many combinations that we have tried out," Corrigan said. "We are really lucky because our team has amazing depth in the 400 this year, so there are a lot of great choices for this relay."
Next weekend, the 4x400 relay and the rest of the team will travel to the Armory in New York City to compete at ECACs. The Jumbos have put in a lot of hard work, and this will be their last chance to prove they can compete on a national level.
"We have all been training hard all season, so it is a matter of being confident that we are ready to run a great time and push through the end of the race," Corrigan said. With that sort of attitude, the 4x400 and other Jumbos are looking to make one last push to the finish.
