The women's track and field team followed up last weekend's first-place finish with another impressive performance on Saturday, placing second out of 10 teams at the Springfield Invitational. The Jumbos finished with 89 points, second only to MIT's 163, while Wheaton and host Springfield placed third and fourth, respectively.
Heading into the meet, the Jumbos knew the Engineers would be their main competition, though the field as a whole promised a stiff challenge for the well-rested Jumbos.
"We knew MIT would be the frontrunner at that race, and we were gunning for them," said senior tri-captain Anya Price, who placed fourth in the mile run. "But other than that, it was a good opportunity to shake some of the dust off and get some good times."
Taking down MIT proved to be too tall a task. The Engineers had more athletes than the Jumbos, who were forced to exclude some distance runners who took the weekend off. However, those Jumbos who did compete had an excellent showing.
Senior Kelly Allen delivered a record-setting performance in the shot put and finished second in the weight throw, netting 18 points for the Jumbos. Allen's shot put throw of 12.86 meters secured first place and broke Tufts' 25-year-old record previously set by Jan Brown in 1987. Allen broke her own school record in the weight throw on Jan. 8 and has consistently been the Jumbos' points leader. She now ranks 11th in the nation in the shot put and fourth in the weight throw.
Tufts also received major contributions in the shot put and weight toss from senior RonkeOyekunle, who finished second and third in the events, respectively, to rack up 14 points. Behind the stellar performances from Oyekunle and Allen, the Jumbos were able to grab 32 points in just two events.
Senior Heather Theiss provided another bright spot for the Jumbos, earning an individual victory in the pole vault and 10 points for her team. She cleared the bar set at 11-7 on her first attempt — good for sixth nationally — which proved to be crucial after an MIT vaulter took two tries to clear the same height. Theiss was close to breaking her own school record of 12 feet, and believes she still has room for improvement.
"Just being a senior, you'd think I would have it completely down at this point," Theiss said. "But the vault is such a technical event that you really just need to keep learning the technique."
The 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of juniors Alyssa Corrigan and Sam Bissonnette, sophomore Jana Hieber and freshman Lauren Gormer, took first place with a final time of 4:09.78. Corrigan also fared well individually, finishing third in the 600-meter race with a time of 1:42.13.
The 4x800-meter team also provided some excitement over the weekend, placing second in their race. The quad, made up of Price, sophomore Laura Peterson, freshman Lindsay Rogers and senior Lauren Flament, finished in an impressive 10:06.72. Flament is also a sports editor for the Daily.
The Jumbos will look to continue their success as they split into two groups this weekend. Some will travel to Boston University for the Terrier Classic, while others will head to the MIT Invitational. Both meets will provide tough tests against stiff national competition and should give Tufts a chance to get even better.
"Without question, there is room to drop times," Price said. "The team has a definite chance to shine at the Boston meets."
