It was a record-breaking weekend for the Tufts foursome of senior tri-captain Sarah Crispin, and juniors Kaleigh Fitzpatrick, Katy O'Brien and Cat Beck. On Friday, the group combined to set a New England record for all three divisions in the distance medley relay at BU's Open New England Championships.
The crew combined to run the race in 11:39.08, obliterating the second-place Williams team by nearly 13 seconds, and edging out Div. I squads Providence College, UConn, and Quinnipiac, who finished third, fifth, and sixth, respectively. The time also destroyed the previous Tufts record of 11:59 set in 2005.
But because the race occurred on the BU banked track, which allows for faster times, the record will be adjusted, likely placing it behind Wisconsin Platteville's time of 11:40.45. Regardless, Friday's performance handed the Jumbo crew the only other NCAA automatic qualifying time this season.
Such an exceptional race gave Tufts 10 points and helped it place 15th overall with 18 total points against a competitive compilation of Div. I, II, and III squads on Friday and Saturday. UConn won the meet by a landslide, notching 153 points, to blow away Northeastern (107.5), Providence College (58), and Williams (51).
See Tuesday's Daily for more coverage on the Women's Open New England Championships.
-by Rachel Dolin
