In the culmination of a strong indoor season, the women's track and field team will send two representatives to the NCAA Div. III Indoor Championships this weekend at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. With sophomore Nakeisha Jones and junior Amy Wilfert the lone competitors for Tufts, the Jumbos are looking forward to competing on the sport's biggest stage.
"We have a much smaller squad this year, and it'll be a lot harder to score as well with only two people in one event each," said Wilfert, who will run in the one−mile race. "Provided that, we're still confident and hoping to do well."
"I'm excited to be back again," added Jones, an All−American in the triple jump. "Hopefully I can do well."
In 2009, Jones went into the indoor championships ranked second in the nation for the triple jump and, with a qualifying distance of 39−3 1/4, ultimately received fourth place, which was good enough for All−American honors. At the 2009 outdoor championships, she was also an All American and came in third at the NCAAs with a triple jump distance of 39−5 3/4.
Last year, Wilfert ran the 1,200−meter leg of the distance medley relay (DMR). Wilfert, along with then−seniors Halsey Stebbins (LA '09) and Jackie Ferry (LA '09) and current junior Stephanie McNamara, captured the DMR championship with a time of 11:46.88, the second consecutive year the Jumbos won the national championship and their third top−two finish in as many years. Wilfert also earned All−American honors at the meet.
Jones' and Wilfert's success helped contribute to Tufts' fifth−place overall finish in the national indoor championship at last year's meet, an improvement over their placing of 16th in the outdoor meet.
This spring, Jones is ranked first in the triple jump after setting a mark of 39−2 1/2 at the All−New England Championships on Feb. 27 and most recently won the triple−jump title at the ECAC Championships on March 6 with a leap of 39 1/2. Though her qualifying mark is slightly behind the distance that she posted at last year's championships, Jones expects to experience improved results this weekend.
"I feel like I'm better prepared this year than I was before," Jones said. "You never know what will happen, but I'm going for the win."
Wilfert will enter Greencastle as the ninth seed for the mile run after setting a qualifying time of 4:59.46 in the All−New England Championships. But the junior is more focused on representing Tufts well than adding more All−American honors to her trophy case.
"We're both here to do well," she said. "So that's the priority."
After having a much larger group representing Tufts at the Indoor Championships last year, it will be a big adjustment to have only two Jumbos go out to the meet this weekend.
"It's always a little hard because there are not a lot of familiar faces," Wilfert said. "But it's also not entirely new, so we know what to expect."
Senior co−captain Andrea Ferri and senior Logan Crane both barely missed the qualifications for the NCAAs. The NCAA committee cut off the time for the 55−meter dash at 7.26 seconds, while Crane's best time was 7.28. Ferri, who was ranked 18th for the pentathlon, narrowly missed joining Jones and Wilfert as the qualification stopped after the top 17 competitors were selected.
Despite the Jumbos' minimal representation in the upcoming weekend, Tufts is no stranger to the NCAA championship meets. As of 2009, the Jumbos have had 12 national champions, and numerous athletes have received All−American honors. Jones, the ECAC triple jump champion, has a good chance to repeat as an All−American, as does Wilfert.
"I worked hard this season," Jones said. "I'm just hoping for the best."
