Unfortunately for Tufts, it was not meant to be, again.
The women's outdoor track and field team finished runner-up to the Williams College Ephs once again in this year's NESCAC Championships, held at Trinity College on Saturday. Williams dominated the competition with 247 points, while Tufts was in a distant second with 141.5.
"We had them scrambling during the indoor season at New Englands, so it is heartbreaking that things ended up for us this way," coach Kristen Morwick said.
Call it bad luck, fate, or as some would like to believe, a "Williams hex," but whatever conspired to have three Jumbos wipe out in three different events put a serious cap on the team's uphill climb toward the top of the NESCAC.
Like senior quad-captain Jess Trombly, who was disqualified in the 100 meter hurdles after getting caught up in a tumble by Ester Schlegel of Wesleyan. To make matters worse, the fall strained an old hamstring injury. Despite the circumstances, Trombly immediately had to run in her next event, the 400m dash. She took second place in the event (59.06), as well as second place in the long jump (5.21m).
Or sophomore Jillian Warner, who, after taking third place in the 100m dash (12.78) and fourth place in the 200m (26.08), fell in the last leg of the 4X400 relay, sustaining season-ending injuries.
Then there was junior Katie Sheedy, who was tripped and wiped off the track in the 800m dash, knocking her down to 18th place and adding ten seconds to her time in the event.
"If the falls hadn't happened, we would have added at least forty points to our score, and taken away from Williams's total, closing the gap between us," Morwick said. "Things just went from bad to worse for us. Considering everything that happened, it is pretty unbelievable that we still ended up in second place."
Key performances contributed to the second place finish, including the Jumbos' only two individual winners at the meet: senior tri-captain Lauren Caputo and freshman Sarah Crispin.
Crispin was the first to cross the line in the 800m run, racing to a personal record of 2:17.56. This is her second consecutive first place finish in the event.
"[Crispin] has a great attitude," Morwick said. "She really steps it up in big meets. She is going to have a great four years here."
Adding to her already-distinguished four years here was Caputo, who dominated in the 3000m steeplechase, earning a victory in 11:21.96. The Jumbos crowded the finish line, with sophomore Becca Ades coming in second, nine seconds off her teammate's mark (11:29.76). Ades also took sixth place in the 1500m in 4:50.78, making both events being personal records.
Sophomore Rachel Bloom also contributed significant points to the team's score, with second place finishes in both the 100m (12.62) and 200m dashes (25.65). Her time in the 200m was also a personal record. She also ran in the second place 4X100 relay squad (49.52).
The field unit once again exceeded expectations, topped by a third place javelin throw of 106 ft. by junior Melissa Graveley. Many team members had both personal and season bests, and senior Gwen Campell set a school record in the hammer throw, taking sixth place in the event with a 41.58m toss.
Despite the effort, it would be one more notch on evil empire Williams' belt.
"It was a tough day to have all of this stuff happen to us," Morwick said. "It is unfortunate that it had to be the biggest meet of the season."
Morwick, however, was still encouraged by the performances of many of the team members, particularly in how the younger competitors rose to the challenge.
"For what was for us a sub-par meet, we still came in second place in a really strong conference," Morwick said. "One of the positives was the way the younger classes really stepped it up. They will only get better over their careers so I was pleased with that."
Next up for the team is the New England Div. III Championships held in Springfield. While Morwick's strategy will be to boost individual performances to get as many people qualified for All New England's and Nationals, she still expects the team to place in the top three.
