After having finally taken down the Williams Ephs for its first-ever regional title, the women's track and field team entered Feb. 20-21's New England Div. III Championships with hopes of bringing home the crown for the second straight year. But things didn't go as planned for the Tufts squad, which found itself in third place at the end of the weekend behind Williams and a surging MIT team in first.
See if anyone on the team is still thinking about that now.
Over the next three weekends of championship-season competition, the Jumbos turned it up a notch, beating both teams out at New England Open Championships and besting Williams at ECACs before capping off the season with a fifth-place finish at NCAA Div. III Championships, far better than any other New England team could manage. MIT tied for 16th, while Williams tied for a distant 48th.
"At Div. III New Englands, we lost focus in the middle of the meet," coach Kristen Morwick said. "We were able to rebound in our last two relays, but [Williams is] so distance-heavy that they had more distance guns than we did at the end of the meet ... We needed to do it early in the meet, and we just didn't, and there was nothing we [could] do about it other than do as well in the relays as we could.
"But our next two championships were awesome," Morwick continued. "We did great at All-New Englands and at ECACs and obviously at NCAAs, and as it turned out, we were the far better team at NCAAs than any New England squad. To finish fifth in the nation, which is better than we did last year, was particularly great."
Nationals served as the crowning achievement for the team, which earned its second-straight distance medley relay (DMR) championship. Sophomore Amy Wilfert, senior Halsey Stebbins and senior tri-captain Jackie Ferry joined sophomore Stephanie McNamara on the DMR squad, filling in for the decorated trio of Katy O'Brien (EN '08) and former tri-captains Cat Beck (LA '08) and Kaleigh Fitzpatrick (LA '08), who among them collected over 10 All-American awards between indoor and outdoor track combined over the course of their careers.
"After graduating such significant seniors last year and All-Americans, I think we sort of were looking at this year as a rebuilding year, but as the season went on, the goals were set a little higher," Morwick said.
Freshman Nakeisha Jones also garnered All-American accolades with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump, while classmate Dayorsha Collins took 11th in the high jump.
"It was a good ending to a great season," Jones said. "Basically to be a part of that and to go to Nationals as a freshman, it was just a wonderful experience."
While Morwick's team couldn't replace its graduated standouts on the running side, the Jumbos instead worked to transform a weaker field events group. Jones' and Collins' presence at Nationals served as a testament to the comparative balance achieved between the runners and the field event specialists this season, as they became the first two field event specialists to represent the Jumbos at the meet since 2004.
"Of course we could be a little stronger, but I feel that in every field event, we do have someone who definitely represents the school very well and can compete with the other top competitors from other schools," Jones said.
"That sets the tone a little bit that no one group is responsible for the success of the team," Morwick said. "That's great. Everyone now has to pull their weight and by having a more balanced attack, everyone has to strategize against our team."
In addition to Jones and Collins, freshman pole vaulter Heather Theiss had a breakout season, setting a new Tufts record and just missing out on an NCAA qualifier.
"It was a great feeling, just knowing that freshmen usually don't contribute that much," Theiss said. "It made me feel good just to know that I was helping out the team ... I didn't expect it because I didn't really know how I would measure up against my competition, but it was just an amazing feeling."
But the team's younger talent wasn't exclusive to the field events. Led by McNamara and Wilfert, several underclassmen played vital roles for the Jumbo squad.
"There were so many other freshmen that added depth to the team in places where we really need it," Morwick said. "To step into a situation in college where it's new and not knowing the competition, they were awesome. I can't say enough about them.
"It only means good things," Morwick continued. "You're putting freshmen and sophomores into pressure situations early in their career, and by the time they are juniors and seniors, it's going to be easier for them and it sets a good example for people coming in -- 'This is what you do as a freshman, this is what we did, you can do it and you don't have to be intimidated'. It's huge."
