Ephs Capture Another NESCAC Title
Hillary Higs '12
It was a beautiful 68 degrees for the NESCAC all conference track meet. Eleven teams were present but only one could come home victorious. Yet, another NESCAC championship went home with Williams. The final scores had Williams with 180 points, their closest competitor was Middlebury with 156. The Ephs battled it out from start to finish leaving no room for error. Many athletes doubled in events while some even took on the task of four of five.
Three ladies started out in the 100m dash preliminaries, only two would move on to the finals. Elise Johnson and Hillary Higgs both scored points in the 100m dash. Johnson, a junior, captured second running 12.68 but her first place victory would be in the 100m where she not only snatched first but an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 14.70. Freshman Hillary Higgs took 4th place as she literally ran down to the start of the 100m final after running the 400m. Higgs finished 4th in the 400m running 59.33. Higgs said, "it was definitely hard having to double back with basically no rest but I placed in both and helped out the team, so it was well worth it."
Freshman Kelsey Ham would be the one to place 2nd running 58.97 in the 400m, her personal best of the season. Emily Heaslip would get 5th and Nora Mitchell 6th. Clinching four out of the top eight spots the 400m sprint contributed the most points in an event, totaling 20. In the 200m Hillary Higgs and Johnson went one, two. Higgs sprinted her way to a time of 25.77 claiming first, while Johnson followed close behind with 25.85. Higgs and Johnson were the only two athletes in the 200m to go under 26 seconds.
Performance of the meet goes to sophomore Meghan Shea in the 3k Steeplechase. Shea took 1st place with ease and was the only athlete to go under eleven minutes. However 1st place wasn't Shea's only claim to fame, it would be the new facility record she set. Shea's winning time of 10:53.99 replaces the 2002 record of 10:59.13. Shea also grabbed an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Clearly this was an outstanding performance and there will be more to come in the future.
There were some good finishes in the 800m as Williams went 3, 5, and 7. Sophomores Lizzy Danhakl and Sara Wild took 3rd and 5th. Danhakl ran 2:14.64 for 3rd and Wild finished with a time of 2:15.35 for 5th. Junior Olga Kondratjeva managed 7th place running 2:16.45. Kondratjeva would double back in the 1500 along with Danhakl. Kondratjva finished 3rd with 4:35.13 and Danhakl finished 4th with 4:37.75.
Where endurance is key senior Julia McNamara would out last for fourth running 18:27.78 in the 5k. Doubling the distance would be Mary Feeley as she completed in the 10k. Her time of 38:01.48 was good enough to lock in second place.
Coming up big in the field was freshman Karyn Moss who took 4th in the triple jump. Moss jumped 37-06.50 good enough for a NCAA provisional qualification. Moss also took 8th in the 100m hurdles and 7th in the high jump. Julia Cohan's throw of 122-06 got her third in the javelin. Sophomore Sara Turner took 3rd in the long jump jumping 17-02. Other good performers were freshman Madaline Watson who placed 6th in the discus throwing 114-02, and sophomore Rachel Teitelbaum who took 5th in the pole volt clearing 9-09.00
When it came down to the relays Williams 4x100m relay consisting of Juniors Johnson and Shawna Rae McArdle, along with freshmen Higgs and Ham took 1st with a time of 48.74. The 4x400 meter relay encompassing sophomores Kylie Huckleberry, Sara Wild, and Anne Kerth alongside junior Emily Heaslip grabbed second with a time of 4:00.18. Williams 4x800 would finish the meet in 5th sealing Williams victory.
