The women's track and field team secured third place at the ECAC Championship this past weekend at the Armory in New York City, and several athletes earned a trip to Nationals in Iowa next week.
The Jumbos scored 45 points, edged by Amherst with 46 points ,and meet champion MIT, which finished with 56.33 points. But the true focus was on individual performances, as team members looked to either end their season on a high note or get one last chance to qualify for Nationals next week.
Junior Kelly Allen continued her stellar season in both the shot put and weight throw. Allen was the sole event champion of the weekend for the Jumbos, winning the shot put with a heave of 43-3 3/4. That throw broke her own school record set earlier this year by nearly a foot, and, more importantly, was the 15th best throw nationally, which means Allen secured a place in the shot put at Nationals.
"I knew I had to PR to be competitive for Nationals," Allen said. "I just did what I needed to do … Now, for Nationals, it's about who can do well at the right time. I just have to do what it took to get me to Nationals, and not worry about the rest."
The shot put will be one of two events Allen will compete in at Nationals; she was already heading to Iowa for the weight throw entering this weekend. She placed second in the event at ECACs with a toss of 56-8 3/4.
Senior Nakeisha Jones also was able to secure her spot at Nationals in the triple jump. Jones placed third at the meet and ninth nationally with a jump of 39-0 1/4.
Jones and Allen will be joined at Nationals by senior pole-vaulter Heather Theiss, who finished sixth at ECACs with a jump of 11-11 3/4.
The 4x800 team, consisting of seniors Lauren Flament, Sarah Boudreau and Grace Perry, and junior Leah Small, finished fourth with a time of 9:37.04. Flament is also a sports editor for the Daily.
The DMR team, made up of senior Anya Price, junior Sam Bissonnette and sophomores Jana Heiber and Laura Peterson set a season personal record with a time of 11:58.51, which was good for fifth at the meet. The time ranks them 14th nationally, which is not quite enough to send them to Iowa because only the top 10 relay teams travel to Nationals.
Heiber is the fourth and final Jumbo headed to the national meet. While she will be competing in the pentathalon, she was still excited about how the season ended for the DMR squad.
"Setting a PR for the DMR was really exciting," Heiber said. "We all ran really well, and it was just a good performance. It felt great."
The NCAA Championships will be held at Grinnell College this Friday and Saturday.
