The overriding theme as the women's track and field team enters the outdoor season is that of promise. Though the squad did not send any representatives to the indoor NCAA Championships this past weekend, there were encouraging performances put forth toward the end of the indoor season have created hope for the spring.
Due to the timing of the postseason meets with the final exam schedule, the Jumbos have set the NESCAC Championship as their outdoor goal. The Division III Championship would usually be the focus of the season, as it was for indoor, but this falls during final exams in May.
Last year, the women placed fifth out of 11 teams at NESCAC's. Now, they want to see themselves in the top three at this year's competition.
"That's the meet we're keying on," coach Kristen Morwick said. "Other than that, we should take some of our athletes to the nationals this time; that is definitely a goal."
The Jumbos hope that the constant improvements in times and distances will continue into this next track season. Upon returning from a spring break foray to Las Vegas, the squad will launch into a relatively short outdoor season.
The outdoor venue is favored by most on the team because of its more natural surroundings and the wider variety of events offered. Also, the majority of freshmen on the team are more likely to have competed on outdoor track teams, as opposed to indoor ones, making the upcoming season more comfortable for them.
"Indoor is usually more of a prep season; people generally do better outdoors, and it's where we seem to peak," junior Kristen Munson said.
The advent of outdoor track and field brings with it the opportunity to allow indoor athletes to flourish while adding new members to the team who competed in other winter sports.
Two such athletes are sophomore Kate Gluckman and junior Danielle Perrin, both looking to contribute to an impressive throwing contingent. Gluckman, who played basketball in the winter, will compete in the throws events, while Perrin will make a dent in the javelin throw.
Gluckman and Perrin will complement a group of throwers that has seen marked improvement since last year. Freshmen Katie Antle and Jessica Colby join sophomores Gwen Campbell and Jessica Gauthier as they continue from their indoor campaign, creating an ever-improving throwing squad headed by coach Karen Hoch. In addition to the weight throw and shot put events in indoors, the outdoor setting adds the javelin, hammer, and discus throws to the Jumbos' repertoire.
A core of four athletes will comprise the key jumpers on the team, all with indoor experience. Freshman Melissa Graveley, sophomores Shushanna Mignott and Amy Spiker, and senior Sarah Leistikow are hoping to leap beyond the marks set in the indoor season. Mignott saved the best for last at the indoor ECAC Championships when she leapt to a personal best and a spot on the NCAA provisional list.
Sophomore Jessica Trombly will join Leistikow and Graveley in the multi-events, namely the heptathlon and pentathlon. During the indoor championships, Leistikow and Graveley proved that they were contenders, with Leistikow finishing in the top three each time she competed in the heptathlon.
In addition to the multi-events, Trombly and Mignott are part of a solid stock of sprinters. Junior co-captain Myriam Claudio and freshmen Claudia Clarke, Sika Henry, and Ayako Sawanobori are a few of the others that add speed to the sprint events. The 4x100 meter-relay team will include Trombly, Claudio, Mignott, and Sawanobori.
Familiar faces from the indoor season will cover the middle distance races. Freshman Katie Sheedy, sophomore Lauren Caputo, junior Mary Nodine, and senior Colleen Burns will be the people to watch in these events.
Nodine and senior Heather Ballantyne will also be training for a unique outdoor event known as the steeplechase. The race is 3000m in length, but each 400m lap includes four hurdles complete with water pits that have to be cleared. This year, the event will be included at the outdoor NCAA Championships, giving Nodine and Ballantyne extra incentive to train for the event.
Though not involving water pits, the 100 and 400 hurdles are nonetheless challenging events. Trombly and Spiker will compete in the 100 hurdles, fresh off the 55 hurdles during indoor, while freshmen Meghan McCarthy and Katie Sheedy and sophomore Emily Bersin will tackle the 400 hurdles.
With the NESCAC Championship meet in its sights, the team is gearing up for what promises to be an eventful outdoor season. The first meet of the official outdoor season will be on March 30 at Northeastern, and it will provide a chance to see how prepared for the season ahead the Jumbos are.
"With the performances people put forth in indoor, the outdoor season looks really promising," Munson said. "We have a great team and I expect big performances this season."
