The women's track and field team notched several impressive individual performances this weekend at both Boston University and the Gantcher Center while preparing for the New England Championships.
Both competitions were non-scoring events, but they gave the team an important final opportunity to gain confidence and improve times and throws.
At the home invitational, Tufts' throwers once again led the way. Juniors Sabienne Brutus and RonkeOyunkele finished one-two in the weight throw, tossing 52-2 3/4 and 43-11 3/4 feet, respectively. In the shot put, Oyunkele grabbed a first-place finish with a throw of 39-5 feet, while Brutus finished fourth with a throw of 35-1 ¼ feet.
On the track, the team fared just as well, securing two first place finishes and several other personal records.Sophomore Bethanne Goldman won the 800-meter with a time of 2:30.43, and the 4x200-meter relay team finished first with an impressive mark of 1:48.27 that helped boost their ranking for the Div. III championships. Freshman LatishaCurtiss also had a PR of 8.20 in the 60-meter dash, good for third in the event.
The jumpers rounded out the successful day, securing top-three finishes in three out of the four events. Freshman Christina Harvey finished third in the long jump with a distance of 15-4 3/4. Senior Dayorsha Collins finished third in the high jump at a height of 4-11 3/4. Sophomore Colleen Flanagan and senior tri-captain Katherine Tang tied for third in the pole vault, each clearing the bar at 9-6 1/4.
"We knew this was our last chance to hit qualifying marks before Div. III championships," Tang said. "The girls worked really hard, and we're all really excited about next weekend."
Across the Charles, the women's team was also participating in the Terrier Invitational at Boston University. The squad went up against a mix of Div. I, Div. II and Div. III competition as it looked to improve on individual marks at the non-scoring event.
The Jumbos were led by junior thrower Kelly Allen. Allen finished sixth in the weight throw, tossing the weight 54-0 1/2 feet to beat out many athletes from Div. I schools. Brutus continued her strong season by throwing 45-4 ¼ feet, good for 20th place.
Several runners earned personal records on the track as well. Senior captain Anya Price led the charge, running a 5:05.58 in the mile to earn a 46th place finish in the event. Price's time was the ninth-fastest mile ever run by a Tufts athlete.
"It was an amazing day for everyone," Price said. "We are able to take advantage of the BU facilities and extremely high level of competition. In this meet there was always somebody to chase, and we used that."
The personal bests continued to pour in throughout the day. Sophomore Laura Peterson ran a 2:58.75 in the 1000-meter, a PR that was good for 26th in the event. The 4x400-meter relay team — consisting of Collins, junior Alyssa Corrigan, sophomore Jana Heiber and freshman Caitlin Pohl — set a new season record with a time of 3:58.78, which placed them 11th overall. Pohl also did well in the 500-meter, finishing 24th in 1:20.05.
Junior Sam Bissonnette set a new personal record in the 800-meter, taking 2:20.50 and finishing in 66th place. She was followed up by freshman Lauren Gormer (2:21.35) and seniors Sarah Boudreau (2:23.40), Lauren Flament (2:23.83) and Grace Perry (2:23.86), all of whom finished in the top 100.
After such a successful weekend, the team has the momentum and fire going into the Div. III championships next weekend that can propel them to another strong performance.
The Div. III New England are hosted by Smith College this year, while the All New Englands, encompassing Div. I, II and III, will take place at Boston University the following weekend.
