So far this season, the women's track and field team has cleared every hurdle. At invitational meets, the Jumbos have earned two first−place and two second−place finishes. They have broken several school records. And at last weekend's non−scoring events at the Gantcher Center and Boston University, they achieved numerous personal bests.
Tomorrow, though, the Jumbos will have a chance to reach new heights. The squad will travel to Smith College, kicking off the championship season with the Div. III New England Championships.
New Englands provide Tufts with two unique opportunities. First, they give the Jumbos a chance to prove their ability as a team against perennial contenders Williams and MIT. At the same time, they give individuals the chance to advance to the All−New England Championships, ECAC Championships and Nationals.
The team has placed third at New Englands in each of the past two seasons, and they hope to do at least as well this year.
"This is the big championship meet. All the Div. III schools in New England will be there, and this is the team scoring event that matters," senior tri−captainKayleyPettoruto said. "Our goal is to be in top three. Williams and MIT are strong, but we are too. We're always in the top three, and we'd like to stay up there."
Tufts finished second behind MIT at the Springfield Invitational back on Jan. 21, and on Feb. 4 the Jumbos won a home invitational where Williams placed seventh.
In order to defeat its rivals this weekend, Tufts will need strong performances from the squad's top contributors all season — the throwing and relay teams.
Senior thrower Kelly Allen has consistently led the team in points, and she has already broken her own school records in the weight throw and the shot put, with tosses of 16.80 meters and 13.09 meters, respectively. Those marks are significantly better than MIT's top throwers' distances this season. However, Allen will be challenged by Williams sophomore Amina Avril, who has recorded a weight throw of 17.35 meters and a shot put of 12.24 meters this season.
"We are going in trying to win, as this is our big meet," Allen said. "It's always close between us, MIT and Williams. We've put in the work physically; now it's just time to get in the right mentality. I'm just trying to go out there and help our team win the meet."
Allen is expected to continue competing deep into the indoor track postseason and will likely earn a chance to compete at Nationals if all goes well.
The Jumbos also need help from their strong relay squads, led by the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) and 4x400−meter units. Tufts' 4x200−meter and 4x800−meter teams should also be very competitive.
While MIT boasts the fastest relay teams across the board, Tufts appears to have the upper hand against many of Williams' relay groups.
"The relay teams have the talent to win their events as long as they work together," Petteruto said.
The DMR team — featuring sophomores Laura Peterson and Jana Hieber and juniors Anya Price and Sam Bissonnette−− and the 4x400−meter team, featuring Hieber, sophomore Colleen Flanagan, junior Alyssa Corrigan and senior Dayorsha Collins, both set season personal records last weekend at the BU invitational. They are looking to continue on to the ECAC Championships.
If both groups perform well this weekend, Tufts will have a strong chance of winning the Div. III championships, and the DMR and 4x400−meter teams could enjoy a deep run into the month of February.
Hieber has also been a key contributor for the Jumbos in the pentathlon this season; her point total of 3,236 is good for second in the nation. She will look to secure points for the team in both the pentathlon and the relays, while also competing to move on to regionals and nationals in the upcoming weeks.
In order to take home the Div. III New Englands title for the first time since the 2007−08 season, the Jumbos will need to showcase their depth and place well across the board.
Securing points wherever possible will be the key to unseating perennial favorites MIT and Williams.
If the Jumbos can do that while continuing to succeed in the areas where they have all season long, the team should have what it takes to capture the crown.
