After a strong showing at the New England Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships, the women’s track and field team started the outdoor season in similar style, winning the annual Snowflake Classic hosted at Tufts, beating out 23 other teams in the process.
Cancellations of other New England meets resulted in a record number of schools participating in the event, which lived up to its name — at least in terms of weather.
Despite the pouring rain and strong winds, the Jumbos prevailed, led by winners in five different events. The team scored a total of 116 points, dominating the competition — Bates came in second with 98.7.
“Considering the weather, which wasn’t ideal, I thought we were in good spirits,” senior Jana Hieber said. “There were some great performances. We put some good work in over spring break and it was clear no one slacked off.”
The Jumbos were driven by their versatility, finishing at or near the top in almost all of the events. In the 100-meter dash, sophomore Alexis Harrison placed third with a time of 12.35 seconds and senior tri-captain Anya Kaufmann finished close behind with a time of 12.76 seconds to take sixth. Harrison, Kaufmann and freshman Rita Donohoe all placed in the top 10 in the 200-meter dash as well.
The five first-place victories came from five different events both on the track and in the field. The women’s 4x100-meter relay team, which consisted of Harrison, Kaufmann, Donohoe and freshman Bianca Rescalvo, recorded a time of 49.02 seconds, just edging out Worchester State’s time of 49.40 seconds.
Meanwhile, Heiber followed her impressive All-American performance at Nationals by winning 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.87 seconds. Hieber was the only Jumbo to win an individual track event. Although Hieber spent most of the indoor season training for the pentathalon, she looks to be adjusting quickly to a track-oriented focus.
Sophomore Mary Ellen Caruso took first place in the triple jump with an impressive distance of 34’ 2 1/4”. In the circle, senior Robin Armstrong also started off her season well by winning the hammer throw with a distance of 134’. Armstrong was also able to take fifth in the javelin throw with a heave of 120’.
The meet also saw excellent performances from junior Isa Cuervo and senior Misha Patel who finished third and sixth, respectively, in the 800-meter. In the 10,000-meter senior Lauren Creath ran a time of 37:21.73 to capture a second-place finish.
Despite all the impressive performances, the highlight of the meet may have been the last race. The meet ended with a 4x400-meter relay in which each class comprised its own team in an exciting Tufts face-off. Rousing chants of “freshman” rang from the men’s track and field team, but in the end the enthusiasm was not enough to hold off the senior team, which finished first with a time of 4:15.72. The sophomore team finished close behind them with a time of 4:20.82.
“The Snowflake Classic is always one of the most fun meets because of the four by 400,” Hieber said. “I just love the excitement that goes into the four by 400 because you get to run with girls you may not [get] to usually [run with] and our team actually [has] won the last three years.”
Although the Jumbos are happy with the win, the conditions meant that hitting any qualifying times was almost impossible, and the runners and throwers hope to use the next month as an opportunity to reach their individual goals.
“Everyone’s super excited for our upcoming meets and a lot of our athletes are looking to hit NESCAC, ECAC and NCAA qualifying times in the next few weeks,” Rescalvo said.
The team will now travel to American International College for the Yellow Jacket Invitational this upcoming Saturday, with hopes of continuing its dominating performances.
