Women looking to heat up for post season

As opposed to the strategic planning that the women's track team used in beating Bowdoin last weekend, this week's competition will afford the Jumbos a chance to focus purely on the postseason. The Gantcher Center plays host to the Tufts Invitational on Saturday, bringing a host of teams from around the New England region.

The biggest competition this weekend comes from Wheaton, the defending Div. III National Champions. This squad is up to its usual lofty standards and the Jumbos are not looking to topple Wheaton. Other schools in attendance will be Worchester State, Westfield State, Keene State, and SUNY-New Paltz.

"We could pull out all the stops and try to beat Wheaton, but it's not really worth it," coach Kristen Morwick said. "It's too much to do week in and week out with the strategizing, so we rest people instead of trying to win meets."

With the New England Div. III Championship meet looming on Feb 22 at Bowdoin, many Jumbos are looking to use the last two meets of the season as a chance to edge their way into postseason play. Having run on the home track of the Polar Bears, the Jumbos have seen the arena in which they will compete come Div. III Championships, and have become better acclimated with it.

This weekend's meet is relatively small in terms of the competition, with the highest form of opposition coming from Wheaton. Senior Jana Bromell is a threat in the throws as she is a national contender in the shot. She and another thrower from Keene State should give sophomore Katie Antle and the rest of the throwers a run for their money.

Junior Lauren Caputo and sophomore Katie Sheedy are looking to go after a time of 3:05 in the 1000. If the two reach this mark in the event it will make them more competitive come Div. III Championship time. Sophomores Claudia Clarke and Ayako Sawanabori and junior Katie Higley will be shooting for times in the low 1:40s in the 600.

The 4x400 squad that ran its fastest time of the season last week will look to better that mark this time around. Comprised of freshman Rachel Bloom, sophomore Sika Henry, and juniors Emily Bersin and Jessica Trombly, the team looks to go under four minutes.

"We want people to get better seed times and get a shot at ECACs," Morwick said.

In addition to the 4x400, Bloom will be put in the open 400 to see how she fairs in the same distance she runs in the relay in a formal race. Morwick hopes to see Bloom run under 60 seconds, giving her more options for the postseason.

The long distance crew will look to crack into the ECAC meet with qualifying marks in the 3000 and 5000. To accomplish this task the runners will have to snag a time of 10:51.24 in the 3000 and a mark of 19:00.24 in the 5000.

"It's going to be more about qualifying for the postseason or for bettering postseason marks that have already been met," Morwick said. "We'll put people in the best events possible for them to get the times and marks they need."