This weekend, the women's track and field team turned in strong performances in two away meets, one at Boston University and the other at MIT.
On Friday, BU's Terrier Classic featured tough competition from Div. I, II and III athletes and showcased Tufts' sprinters and mid-distance runners.
The unique banked track made for a number of standout performances, including three Tufts milers who made their mark. Junior Laura Peterson led the Jumbos with a 50th-place finish in the field of 124 with a time of 5:11.27, and senior Toby Crispin and freshman Audrey Gould came right behind with times of 5:14.11 and 5:14.77 to finish 55th and 57th, respectively.
In the shorter distances, Jumbos placed in a number of different events. Senior quad-captain Alyssa Corrigan finished just ahead of sophomore Lauren Gormer in the 500, where the two clocked nearly identical times of 1:19.93 and 1:19.95 to finish 26th and 27th in a field of 49 runners. In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Marilyn Allen finished 50th of 89 with a time of 9.58, and junior Jana Hieber placed 59th at 9.80.
The second leg of the weekend came Saturday at the MIT Invitational, which, unlike the Terrier Classic, was a non-scoring event for the Jumbos. Tufts' throwers continued the strong performances they have displayed throughout this season, with senior tri-captain Kelly Allen winning the shot put with a toss of 43 feet 9.25 inches and classmate Sabienne Brutus reigning victorious in the weight throw with a heave of 56 feet 3.25 inches. Notably, senior RonkeOyekunle finished right behind Allen as runner-up in the shot put, throwing 42 feet 2 inches.
Allen notes the importance of winning such a significant event and in fact breaking her own school record.
"It felt great to [set a personal record] this early on in the season," Allen said. "Right now, I'm just trying to build up to championship season. While breaking the record felt awesome, I know there is a lot more to come in shot put."
Like the seniors, a number of first-year field members also fared well in the Invitational. Freshman Paige Roberts leapt to second place in the high jump with a clearance of 5 feet 1.75 inches, and classmate Mary Ellen Caruso cruised to second in the triple jump with a mark of 34 feet 4 inches. Finally, freshman Emily Smithwick took third in the pole vault with a season-best clearance height of 10 feet 11.75 inches.
With the track and field season now in full swing, the Jumbos hope to improve on past performances in preparation for the eventual New England Div. III Championships at the University of Southern Maine on Feb. 15-16 and All-New England Championships again at BU on Feb. 22-23. But for now, the track and field teams look forward to reconvening Saturday for the Tufts Stampede in a joint event.
- Molly Greer contributed reporting
