Women's Track and Field | Jones locked in to NCAAs after strong BU meet

    After qualifying provisionally for Nationals in the triple jump in her first-ever collegiate meet, freshman Nakeisha Jones had a hard act to follow heading into Saturday's Terrier Invitational at BU.
    But Jones was more than up for the challenge, outdoing her Jan. 11 performance at Dartmouth Relays with one that hit the NCAA automatic qualifier in the event.
    "It was very exciting," Jones said. "I'm just happy that I did qualify so early, so that I don't have to worry about it and I can just focus on improving my mark.
    "We did extend my runway, so I had two extra steps," Jones continued. "The last feet, I was coming over too high, so I just focused on staying flat and running as fast as I could and getting the most out of each phase."
    Jones' mark of 39'3" not only earned her first place at the meet among Div. III participants and bettered her own personal mark, but it also set the bar as the top Div. III performance in the nation by over five and a half inches, passing regional rivals from Wheaton, Brandeis and Springfield on the way.
    "We are so lucky to have gotten her," sophomore Stephanie McNamara said. "She has incredible talent, and I think she's going to end up going a long way this season. She could potentially win Nationals with a jump like that. I'm psyched that we have her on our team — it looks great for Div. IIIs to have that kind of strength in the jumps. We're really happy for her."
    On the running side, sophomore Stephanie McNamara narrowly missed a provisional qualifier in the mile run, finishing in 5:05.47, less than three seconds ahead of classmate Amy Wilfert. Despite facing strong Div. I competitors, McNamara's heat — slotted as one of the faster groups — got off to somewhat of a slow start, which in turn took a toll on her time as she tried to compensate.
     "At that distance, she's not used to taking the lead," coach Kristen Morwick said. "I think she was expecting someone else to do it … She was trying to make it all up in one or two laps, and that strategy didn't work because then she was out running by herself and slowed down again. It was just a very erratic race, and it was not ideal for her."
    Nonetheless, McNamara's time still currently ranks as the second-fastest in Div. III and will serve as a good springboard for her remaining mile races this season.
    "I think it's hard for her — she goes out and runs a PR every week, so when she doesn't, it's disappointing," Morwick said. "But she's going to run it a bunch more — it's not like we don't have other chances."
    While McNamara may not have surpassed her own personal record, several of her teammates accomplished such a feat. Tufts saw at least one member of the squad record a personal record in almost every running event, and while that may not have been the team's intent, such favorable results were certainly welcomed.
    "We weren't chasing PRs in other events," Morwick said. "That wasn't the goal for this weekend. It was just to improve on times and get qualified for New Englands and other things, and if the PR comes, that's great. To be chasing your PR now doesn't make a lot of sense. You don't want to be running your fastest times in January — you want to do that in March. We've just had a really
great start."
    One especially notable performance came from senior sprinter Halsey Stebbins, who posted a 26.59 in the 200-meter dash in what has been the best season of her career thus far.
    "Halsey, coming back from abroad [last season], really struggled trying to put it all together," Morwick said. "For her to come back with a vengeance and completely turn it around and have the best season of her career — you hope for those things, but it's not a given that your senior year is going to be your best year. I think that's what's happening for a lot of people on our team."
    Tufts also saw impressive finishes in the 800-meter run, including those of senior tri-captain Jackie Ferry, freshman Amanda Parker and sophomore Jen Yih, who finished 35th, 43rd and 51st, respectively.
    The Jumbos will now look to the Tufts Invitational II, the second meet this season to be held at the Gantcher Center, happening this Saturday.