Women's Track 2nd at Div III New England Championships
Karyn Moss
Coming off losing the Division III New England Championship to Tufts last year the Ephs went out with number one in their minds. It would not be an easy task when the competition staked up to a very competitive field but nothing is impossible. Through efforts and performances that were epic to say the least the Ephs did not manage to get first but they did clutch second and held on.
The Ephs had some standout performances and some provisional national qualifications. First year Hillary Higgs managed to place in all her events taking 7th in the 55m dash with a time of 7.58, and second in the 200m dash with a time of 25.77. Higgs' best performance was winning the 400m with a time of 58.54 making provisional qualifications for nationals. Also tripling in events and placing in all was Junior Elise Johnson. Johnson took third in the finals of the 55m hurdles running 8.70 but it was her performance in the preliminaries that would get her provisional national qualification with a time of 8.53. Johnson took sixth in the 200m with a time of 26.43, and ran the first leg of the 4x200m relay team; they finished second with a time of 1:46.74. Other members of the relay team included fellow Juniors Emily Heaslip and Nora Mitchell along with Sophomore Anne Kerth. Elizabeth Danhakl '11 clinched a third place finish despite some occurrences during the race. Danhalk ran 2:16.38 yet another provisional national qualifier for Williams. Making a total of three provisional qualifications, but oh yes there is more! When provisional was not enough Senior Lauren Philbrook dominated the 5k race beating the line by almost 30 seconds. Nott only did Philbrook breeze by her competition to win the race she would go under the automatic national qualification for the 5k by threeseconds! Lauren Philbrook's 17:06.61 was undoubtedly the performance of the day for the Ephs.
Getting points for the Ephs did not stop at the national qualifiers the Distance melody Relay (DMR) took second with a time of 12:21.27. Sara Wild '11 came out big in the 600m to gain a second place finish for the Ephs and a time of 1:37.69. As the meet came to a close it would be the 4x400m relay along with the 4x800m relay that would determine Williams final placing at Division III New England's. The 4x400m relay would take fourth while the 4x800m left it all on the track leading them to a first place finish ahead of the pack with 9:28.04. The 4x800m relay was ran by Jessica Clarke '10, Nora Mitchell '10, Robin Kuntz '09, and Elizabeth Danhakl '11.
Overall the Ephs came out strong and despite their lack of points in the field they still came together as a team and took second place. It was clearly a team effort as they continuously cheered on each other in every event. Many women stepped up for the meet and were thrown in events that were not the norm for the benefit of the team and performed incredibly.
Coach Brooks was quoted with words of contentment, "You represented well your college, teammates, and the history of the program with your positive attitudes, strong performances, and cohesive spirit." However all coaches and athletes believes this is just a start to what the future of the program has to offer. Looking ahead to outdoor season the team is only getting stronger with additions of other winter athletes such as Kelsey Ham '12 who should be helpful in the sprints. For the future to come there is a New Coach and a lot of young talent and respectively Williams Track and Field is heading toward the top.
