A new season brings prospects for the track team

As a team that models itself after the fabled New England Patriots, the women's track and field team is looking to get off to a similarly strong start at this weekend's Husky Carnival. The event, which is hosted by Northeastern University, will give the squad a preliminary look at where its strengths are as the indoor season gets under way.

"The whole group is way ahead of where we were last year, we're a better team," coach Kristen Morwick said. "Last year's freshman class looks great in practice, as do our juniors, and we add to that a group of very strong freshman and transfers."

With the influx of freshman and transfers, the team added at least 20 new Jumbos to the lineup. These new athletes will supplement a core that remained almost wholly intact from last year, given that few seniors were lost to graduation.

Heather Ballantyne and Lauren Esposito are two key competitors who have since graduated and whose presence will be missed on the team this year. While these two made significant contributions throughout their careers, both were slightly marred by injury in their senior seasons. Thus the team began to cope with their losses last season and should be able to fill their spots that much easier because of it now.

One member of the class of 2002 who will actually be back again this year is Sarah Leistikow. Due to a knee injury suffered two years ago, Leistikow has another season of eligibility and will compete in the spring outdoor season. As a competitor in jumps and multi-events, such as the pentathlon, and with essentially four years of experience behind her, Leistikow will have a huge impact on the team in the spring.

In the mean time, there are many others who will be able to step up in anticipation of the outdoor season in the multi-events. Current school record holder junior Jessica Trombly, fellow junior Amy Spiker and sophomore Melissa Graveley will look to be contenders. All three scored at the Division III and NESCAC Championship meets last year. An additional group of freshman will make this group of events a strong one for the Jumbos.

Trombly will also look to continue her reign of speed in the sprints, along with fellow speedster senior tri-captain Myriam Claudio. The tandem was nominated team MVPs last year, with Claudio taking the honor during the indoor season and Trombly in the outdoor campaign.

A contingent of sophomores who are building upon experiences gleaned from their freshman experience look to create a core of stealthy sprinters. They include Sika Henry, Ayako Sawanobori, and Claudia Clarke. In addition freshmen Rachel Bloom, Katie Gadkowski, Jolanda Porter, Meredith Dobbs, Amber Woods, and Molly Whittington will look to make their mark.

"This group of sprinters is the best Tufts has had in many, many years," Morwick said.

Plucking talent from the rival Ephs, the throwing squad has added a new coach who hopes to improve upon the strides made last year. Coach Rebecca Brooks is a Williams College graduate as well as a national champion in the shot put and All-American in the hammer throw. She will use her wealth of experience to mold a group lead by sophomores Katie Antle and Jess Colby, junior Gwen Campbell and junior tri-captain Jess Gauthier.

Running distance will be juniors Lauren Dunn and Lauren Caputo, as well as seniors Mary Nodine, Danielle Perrin, Kristen Munson, and Ashley Peterson. As carry-overs from the top ten of the cross-country team, this group will be well-suited for the long distance events.

The arrival of a cornucopia of new talent combined with a substantial core of seasoned veterans from seasons past should make for some interesting results this indoor season. This weekend's Husky Carnival provides an opportunity to see where the returning athletes are compared to last year as well as giving the newcomers a taste of collegiate competition.

"We will have a lot more flexibility this year with our line-up," Morwick said. "Since we add so many strong freshmen and our sophomore class has really developed, so team scoring will be a lot more spread out."