Seven first-place finishes helped the women's track team to an impressive second place overall at the meet this past Saturday at Bowdoin. Although the Jumbos (132.5) couldn't outscore the host team (151.5), the women did manage to top Middlebury (123.5), Colby (113.5), and Springfield (104).
"Our focus of the season isn't necessarily to win all the meets. It's to post some good times," assistant coach Pete Loeb said. "This was a really competitive meet. I think coming in second at a really close meet is good."
Senior tri-captain Sarah Deeb's first-place performance in the 400-meter dash gave her a provisional qualification for nationals with a 58.05 finish. Deeb grabbed another first-place finish in the 200 (26.73), followed closely by teammate senior Folake Aaron who took fourth in the event (28.27).
"Folake ran really well and she looked great," Loeb said.
Aaron also had her season's best in the 55-meter high hurdles, raking in another first-place finish for the team (8.60).
The turning point of the day came the Jumbos' performance in the 4x400 meter relay. Leadoff runner, junior Lauren Esposito, put the Tufts foursome out in front on the first leg. The handoff to freshman Emily Bersin was smooth and the freshman maintained the lead. Sophomore Myriam Claudio extended the lead, and by the time Deeb got the baton for the final lap, the Tufts' women were far ahead of the competition, finishing first with 4:09.85, over ten seconds ahead of Bowdoin.
"They definitely ran a good race," sophomore Kristen Munson said. "Emily kept the lead and Myriam really opened it up. You knew once they opened up on the third leg that no one was going to catch up."
Claudio was tearing it up all over the track and field on Saturday, even trying her hand at pole vaulting for the first time. The only Tufts woman competing, the versatile Claudio tied for seventh with her Middlebury competition with a seven-foot vault.
"There's a lot to pole vaulting, both mentally and physically," Loeb said. "Myriam's a good one to do it."
In the middle of her first pole-vaulting outing, Claudio had to leave to run her heat for the 55-meter dash. She rose to the challenge, winning her heat and finishing first overall in the 55 (7.73), just a tenth of a second above Bowdoin's Sarah Bodnar (7.74).
Claudio's 4x400 relay teammate Bersin led the way in the 600, barely edging out her Middlebury competition for a first-place finish (1:41.42). In her first season running indoor track, Bersin is already showing potential as an excellent mid-distance runner and a team player. Esposito added a fourth-place finish (1:45.67) in the 600, as she continues to work for faster times following her return from being abroad last semester.
Junior Colleen Burns finished in one half second behind her Bowdoin competition for a third-place finish in the 800, qualifying for ECAC post-season play in the process (2:25.08).
"Even if she doesn't run her best time, Colleen always looks strong," Munson said.
Junior Ellen Adams ran a personal best with her seventh-place run in the event (2:31.72).
Senior tri-captain Leslie Crofton continued to excel, breezing past the competition in the one mile (5:10.88) to finish over ten seconds ahead of any competitors.
"This was Leslie's event of the day," Loeb said. "She ran at an even pace all by herself."
Munson took seventh in the mile (5:39.99), and although somewhat displeased with her time, she has two more weeks of season meets to qualify for post-season competition.
Tufts dominated the 3,000, and although Crofton was overtaken by Springfield senior Barb Swallow (first, 10:16.20), her second-place (10:25.20) finish was still over 25 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Following Crofton were senior Jenn Edelmann (fifth, 11:21.70), sophomore Katheryn Hughes (seventh, 11:26.70), sophomore Ashley Peterson (eighth, 11:28.80), freshman Lauren Dunn (ninth, 11:33.00), and sophomore Heidi Tyson (tenth, 11:36.60. Hughes and Peterson set personal records with their runs.
"We had more people than most of the other teams. It shows our depth," Willard said. "Our distance team is really strong."
The team also did well in the jumping events. Senior Jess Tonn and sophomore Zerlina Maxwell tied for fifth (4'8") picking up important team points. Junior Sarah Leistikow continues to practice for the pentathlon, running the 800 (tenth, 2:40.26) just before taking third in the long jump (15'7"). Senior Nadia Samadani was working out hip problems after placing an impressive third in the triple jump (33'3"), but still managed to pick up team points with a sixth-place finish in the long jump (15'3.25").
Next week, the women return home to face-off against tough competition in the College of New Jersey, Ithaca College, Wesleyan, Springfield, MIT, and Amherst, but the home advantage is keeping the team optimistic.
"I love running at Tufts," Willard said. "I like the home advantage of using the runway and pit I use in practice."
