The women's track team hosted the Tufts Invitational II this weekend — the second of three meets that Tufts will hold this season — and continued to gain momentum as the championship season approaches.
The meet was non−scoring from a team perspective, but individually the women made significant strides. Freshman Jana Hieber competed in and won her first pentathlon on Friday night to get things started for the Jumbos. Her overall score of 3,015 also provisionally qualified her for Nationals.
Hieber's performance in the pentathlon is impressive considering her lack of experience in most of the events. Of the five events she participated in, she had never competed in one before at the collegiate level, and in two more this was only her second collegiate effort. In the last event of the pentathlon — the 800−meter run — Hieber displayed superior endurance, finishing more than 17 seconds ahead of the runner−up with a time of 2:19.27.
"Jana is an awesome all−around athlete," senior tri−captain Rosie Xia said. "In any event, Jana can excel. She has the right attitude and has a lot of talent. She only really knew two events well, but she has been able to learn the events so quickly."
Hieber was surprised by the length of the pentathlon but caught on quickly.
"I didn't expect to be as tired as I was," Hieber said. "Before the 800, I thought I would have more energy. I really liked the way the pentathlon was run; [it was] kind of like gymnastics, and I can identify with that."
But the highlight of Saturday's competition was in the throwing circle. After breaking the school record in the weight throw last weekend, sophomore Kelly Allen stretched her record by another 16 inches by throwing 49−4 1/4.
In addition to her improvement in the weight throw, Allen also posted a personal best in the shot put with a throw of 41−6, inching even closer to the provisional qualifying mark. Junior Ronke Oyekunle took second in the shot put with a distance of 40−9.
The Jumbos earned three other victories on Saturday. Junior Heather Theiss won the pole vault in a season−best 11−1, a move in the right direction for someone who's been struggling to regain her form from last season. Fellow junior Dayorsha Collins won the high jump with a leap of 5−4 1/4 and senior tri−captain Kanku Kabongo won the long jump with a 16−10 1/2 effort.
The 4x200−meter relay team posted a time of 1:47.81, a great mark that put the Jumbos in prime position for the upcoming championship meets.
"Our 4x200 and 4x400 relays have been great," Xia said. "The 4x200 really put together a great race, and the team's performance in the 4x400 showed we have a ton of options for that relay. It was really exciting to see those relays do so well."
For the distance athletes, who often competed in events other than their main focus, the meet was more of a tune−up. The Valentine Invitational next weekend at BU — a great opportunity to compete against quality athletes — will be more of an opportunity for these Jumbos to get ready for the Division III New England Championships two weeks from now.
The young core of distance runners had the opportunity to run the mile and get in a little speed work. Freshman Lauren Creath and sophomore Alyssa von Puttkammer finished in 5:25.82 and 5:25.97, respectively.
Another group of young Jumbos was not far behind. Freshman Madeleine Carey, sophomore Lilly Fisher and freshman Abby Barker all finished together at 5:29. A shorter−than−usual race allowed the group to rest their legs as they prepare for a stretch of longer races to close their seasons.
One meet remains before the New England Championships, and the Jumbos will be looking to make final improvements and get more people qualified for the event. Next weekend, the team will be split between two locations, but Xia is confident in its continued chemistry.
"Our team dynamic is strong, and the split squad won't affect us too much," Xia said "Our team has been great, so the support will still be there."
