This Saturday's Huskie Carnival at Northeastern University will kick off the women's indoor track season, serving as a gauge for how the team will perform this year. A mix of returning runners and promising freshman, the squad hopes to culminate with a postseason run similar to last year's.
"The first meet is pretty low key," senior Heather Ballantyne said. "It's an opportunity to get out there and test out the track and the effect of our training. There's no pressure."
At the end of the indoor season last year, the Jumbos finished third at the New England Div. III Championships, ranked 12th at the New England Championships, and placed an impressive 16th at NCAA Div. III National Championships, where they had five representatives compete.
This season, even with the loss of key seniors, the coach and the team hope to repeat their performance at the New England Div. III Championships. Last year's captains, Leslie Crofton and Sarah Deeb, along with fellow senior Folake Aaron were important assets to the team and contributed in the long distance, middle distance, and hurdles categories respectively. At Nationals, Deeb flew to an unprecedented second place finish in the 400. Filling the shoes of these impressive athletes will be the main task for the Jumbos this indoor season.
"Leslie and Sarah were a huge part of the team, and they'll be hard to replace," senior co-captain Lauren Esposito said. "But if the right people step up we can fill their shoes. Some people will really have to step up, but we can definitely do it. In this early meet we're looking to get out there and see where we are."
In the sprints, the team will look to co-captain junior Myriam Claudio and sophomores Emily Bersin and Jess Trombly. Trombly, also a soccer standout, was a part of the five-person dynamo that made the trip to Nationals last season. Esposito, an All-American in the Distance Medley Relay last season, fellow senior Colleen Burns, and junior Mary Nodine will be vital in the middle distances, while Ballantyne, freshman Rachel Brandenburg, sophomore Lauren Dunn, and junior Sarah Foss will round out the long distance field.
Sophomore Shushanna Mignott, who placed third in New England in the triple jump last season, and senior Sarah Leistikow will be depended upon in the jumps category, while Trombly and sophomore Amy Spiker will be integral in the hurdles. The throwers are represented by a strong group of freshmen and sophomores.
In addition to this depth, there are many freshmen that coach Kristen Morwick feels will be great assets to the team. Sika Henry looks to contribute in the sprints and jumps events, Katy Sheedy in the middle distance, and Ayako Sawanobori and Claudia Clarke will add their skills to the long sprints.
"Losing those three All-American type runners was huge, we'll need other seniors to step up." Morwick said. "We have a real strong freshman class. Depending on how well they do, it'll tell the story of the season. It's putting some pressure on the younger folk, but they're up to it."
Another advantage to this season is that Morwick is no longer a newcomer. In her second year at the helm, the coach is ready to take on a team that she has had more of a hand in molding.
"I know the team better this year," Morwick said. "The new incoming people are people that I recruited and haven't had another coach at Tufts before me. Last year was definitely a transition year, but I feel like each year I'm here it'll only get better."
In terms of competition, the Jumbos will look to keep Wheaton and Williams in their sight. The pair finished first and second respectively at last year's New England Div. III Championships. Rounding out the top six at the Div. III Championships were Middlebury, Wesleyan, and Colby, and these three teams will also be healthy competition for the track team.
It's hard to tell so early on in the season who the real competition will be, which is why the early non-scoring meets will provide an important measure of where each team is at. As Ballantyne said, "At the early meets we'll see where the other teams are at. It's hard to tell right now."
This weekend's Huskie Carnival at Northeastern will provide just such an opportunity for the Jumbos as they use the un-scored meet to determine how much their training, up until now, has paid off, and what needs work over the winter break.
"These first few meets are pretty low key, they're warm-up meets. It'll be mostly sprints, hurdles, jumps, and throws." Morwick said. "They haven't done anything hard since May, so it'll be a good check to see where they're at. It'll be a good measuring stick for how hard they've worked over the fall."
