Women’s track and field places 3rd at New England Div. III Championships

The women’s track and field team achieved their goal of finishing in third place at the New England Div. III Championships Friday and Saturday behind two event winners: first-year Hannah Neilon and junior Rhemi Toth.

Overall, the Tufts squad earned 67 points, trailing MIT in second with 87.5 points and Williams well-ahead in first with 140. The Jumbos have placed either third or fourth at the meet every winter since the 2015–2016 season.

“If we had doubled and tripled and really abused our kids, it would have taken an unbelievable, spectacular performance to win,” coach Kristen Morwick said. “So, we were shooting for third, and we got third. We had some ups and downs, but overall, I think the team really rallied and had a great two days.”

Neilon won the 600-meter race with a personal best and Tufts season-best time of 1:36.33. The Jumbos went 1–2–3 in the event, as first-year Luana Machado followed close behind in second with a personal record at 1:36.58 and junior Julia Gake in third at 1:36.88.

According to Neilon, she worked together with Machado and Gake in the race, which contributed to their collective success.

“With track, you usually think about it as being an individual sport, but we all worked with each other to push each other to go fast,” Neilon said. “Julia Gake ended up running on the outside of the track for a little bit to make sure that no one from other teams could get around us, which was a really selfless move there. The 600 was the highlight of the day for [me], and I’m really proud of how we did as a team.”

Toth, the only other event-winner for the Jumbos, won the 1k race with a time of 2:55.57, a personal record and Tufts season best.

Aside from the first-place finishes, several Jumbos put up impressive individual performances. Senior co-captain Kelsey Tierney ran a personal best and season best in the 3k with a time of 9:47.48, currently the sixth-best in the nation for Div. III.

“That was probably the best race I’ve had in my life," Tierney said. "That was one of those moments that makes it all worth it. It was also a really big team moment — everyone on the team knew how important that was.”

Senior co-captain Evelyn Drake also earned a personal best and Tufts season best in the weight throw at 51’10”. In the pentathlon, senior Kylene DeSmith’s 3,031 total points were a personal best and Tufts season best that put her in sixth place. Meanwhile, in the 800-meter, junior Lauren Diaz posted a time of 2:17.28, good for sixth place.

Coming into the meet, Morwick had expected the relays to contribute significantly to the team’s scoring. Despite some last-minute shuffling, the 4×800-meter team of Diaz, Toth, senior Julia Noble and sophomore Scarlet Bliss placed second with a time of 9:25.38, a Tufts season best. In the distance medley relay, however, the team of Noble, sophomores Kristen Andersen and Olivia Martin and junior Lydia Heely placed eighth with a 12:42.21 finish.

“We had an injury issue that affected both the [distance medley relay] and the [4x800-meter relay], so we had to pull our anchor leg out of the [distance medley relay] and just find someone,” Morwick said. “I think we could have been in the top four teams, but with that little snafu, we were just hoping to eke out a point or two. And then, we had to pull one of our pentathletes [Bliss] from finishing the pentathlon, so she could be a [4x800-meter] relay leg the next day. So, some funky stuff there, but I feel like people responded well.”

In the 4x400-meter relay — one of the team’s strongest events this year — the team of Neilon, Machado, Gake and first-year Tara Lowensohn put forth a respectable effort, but did not punch their ticket to a championship spot just yet. They placed in fourth at 4:00.47, but did not improve on their season-best time, which could prove to be costly as they are on the cusp of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

“In the [4x400-meter relay], we definitely wanted to place top three and possibly secure a spot at nationals and that didn’t happen,” Neilon said. “I think we were pretty burned out from our races earlier in the day, but overall, I think we still did well because we scored points in that race and we have another shot this Saturday to qualify for nationals.”

This weekend, Tufts hosts the Last Chance Qualifier meet at the Gantcher Center, which, as the name implies, is the last chance for athletes to secure a spot in the NCAA Championships.

Unlike the New England Div. III Championships, for the NCAA Championships there are no qualifying times; rather, the top 12 relay teams and the top 17 individuals in the country are selected to compete in their respective events.

According to Morwick, about 20 athletes will compete this weekend. Morwick hopes to give the 4x400-meter and distance medley relays a better shot at earning a spot at the NCAA Championships, as well as DeSmith in the 60-meter hurdles, Drake in the weight throw and possibly a few distance runners in various events.

This year, the NCAA Championships meet will be hosted at the nearby Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass. March 8 and 9.