The women's track and field team will face some of its stiffest competition yet in the All-New England Championships at Boston University this weekend.
New England area schools participate in this meet regardless of division affiliation, meaning that Tufts will square off against not only traditional Div.III rivals — such as Williams, MIT and Middlebury — but also Div. I powerhouses like 18th- ranked UConn as well.
With the stiff competition, the Jumbos are not expecting to place first in many events. Instead, the team will use the talented opposition as an opportunity to bolster its own times. If the Jumbos can achieve personal bests, they may be able to both boost confidence and help themselves qualify for Nationals.
"The standards are higher because there are Div. I and Div. II athletes there," senior tri-captain Rosie Xia said.
"However, we plan to do the same thing [that we always do]. The athletes we have who qualified for the meet are very talented, and they will keep the same mentality."
One of those talented athletes is freshman sprinter Jana Hieber, who continued her standout season by anchoring the 4x400-meter relay at Div. III New Englands last week. The team of Hieber, junior Dayorsha Collins and sophomores Samantha Bissonnette and Alyssa Corrigan took first place with a time of 4:03.34.
"Some of our athletes have a chance to have a phenomenal end to their seasons," Xia said. "Jana [Hieber], the triple jump and the 4x4 are things to look out for at All-New Englands."
Given the highly competitive nature of the All-New England Championships, not all Tufts athletes qualified for the meet. But this will not dampen the spirit of the team, the athletes said.
"Only those who have qualified can compete, but Tufts track athletes are very supportive of one another, so many more than just the competitors will be present at the meet this weekend."" senior tri-captain Kanku Kabongo said.
Many Jumbos who are not competing this weekend still have more competition to look forward to, as the ECAC Championships in New York City on March 4 and 5 prolong the team's season.
The competitors this weekend will be looking for one last chance to qualify for the NCAA championships at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. The uniquely speedy track of BU will play an interesting role in that pursuit, though times will be adjusted due to the banked track.
"BU has one of the best tracks in the area," Kabongo said. "It is banked, so people run faster times when they compete there."
As the season revs into its final gear, so does the Jumbos' intensity, including that of Kabongo, who jumped 36-6 1/4 in the triple jump last weekend, and recorded a personal best 17-8 1/4 in the long jump.
"I just need to do better than my best this weekend." Kabongo said. "Several of us have yet to put all the pieces together to do what we are really capable of. This weekend I need to jump far and I plan on doing just that."
