A season of determination came to fruition this past weekend for the five members of the women's track team who traveled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to compete in this year's NCAA Division III Championships.
The Jumbos proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are among the best in the nation, pulling together to take 16th overall at the competition. A combination of strong individual performances and great teamwork led to the weekend's success.
Senior tri-captain Sarah Deeb was in full force in Wisconsin, running a personal best 57.16 in the 400 during the trials. Deeb then came back to top her own time by running a 56.88 quarter in the finals, finishing in second place overall. She came in just behind Wheaton freshman Amber James, losing by just over two-tenths of a second. In the last stretch of the race, Deeb came right up behind James and nearly passed her in the final few seconds.
"Sarah came so close to being national champion," senior tri-captain Leslie Crofton said. "She was on the heels of the girl in front of her the whole way and in the end, she came in right along side of her."
"I ran the race how I should have," Deeb said. "It didn't happen, but I am happy with the way I ran."
Deeb joined teammates Crofton, freshman Jess Trombly, and junior Lauren Esposito to run in the Distance Medley Relay, the last event of the day on Friday. The foursome had qualified for Nationals the previous weekend at the ECAC Championships and were ranked last out of the nine teams going into the race.
Tufts transcended the rankings, however, finishing in fifth place with a time of 12:04.18.
"It was a really competitive race," Crofton said. "Every one of us, during each of our legs, was really pushed by people around us."
Esposito started the group off, running the 1200 leg and leaving the team in contention for placing in the top six.
"She was a major factor in keeping the team together and keeping focused," Crofton said.
Trombly had a personal record in the 400 leg of the race, contributing to the overall success of the group.
"We did a lot better than we did last week and I think we knew we could do it all along," Trombly said. "We did what we had to do and we put it all together. Everyone did what they were supposed to do and we left no regrets."
Senior hurdler Folake Aaron broke a Tufts record with her 8.33 second run in the trials of the 55-meter hurdles, qualifying for the finals for the first time in her three visits to nationals. Although less satisfied with her final performance (eighth, 8.48), Aaron is in superb position for the upcoming spring season.
"In the finals, I just didn't have a good race," she said. "This season has been very successful in terms of improvement as a hurdler. It's been a long road and it's the hardest I've ever worked. It's the combination of that and a good coach. She wiped out all my bad habits and taught me all new drills - she took me to a different place this season."
In addition to competing with the DMR team, Crofton ran in the 1500 this past weekend and achieved a ninth-place finish in the finals (4:47.40). She had compiled a better time (4:43.85), though, in the trials.
"The trial I just ran well enough to make it to the final. I'm disappointed in how it went. I really feel like I had the potential to run better than I did," Crofton said. "I guess you can't always run your best race. I wish that could've gone better."
Coach Kristen Morwick has pushed her team to continually work harder with each passing week of the season. Team members feel this enthusiasm helped them come so far in the winter months.
"Kristen was very supportive. She was happy with us overall with how we did," Trombly said. "I had a really fun time. I'm glad that I was able to go."
"Everybody just stepped up to the challenge," Aaron said. "It's very exciting to see Tufts people running and doing so well."
With only one season left in her career, Crofton is enthusiastic about the possibilities the spring will bring for herself and her team.
"I'm looking forward to the outdoor season," Crofton said. "We just want to place well in New England and get as many people into nationals as we can."
