Boston, MA -- A select group of Williams athletes competed Friday and Saturday in the Open New England Championships, hosted by Boston University, where they faced a talented field of both Division III and Division I athletes. While they were not in this meet to win it, the Ephs had several noteworthy performances that proved they could stand up against the Division I competition.
On Friday evening, Julie Paschal ’13 took 8th in the high jump, clearing 1.65m. Paschal has remained consistent throughout the season and looks to further improve upon her strong performance at the NCAA championship in two weeks. Also competing on Friday were senior co-captain Nora Mitchell, Lizzy Danhakl ’11, Ariel Williams ’10, and Olga Kondratjeva ’10, who competed in the distance medley relay. The group took third place overall with a blazing time of 11:56.86, earning them a provisional qualifier for the NCAA championship. Their time was only .27 seconds behind Providence College, who finished 2nd.
On Saturday, senior co-captain Elise Johnson ran 8.38 in the 55m hurdles semi-finals to qualify for finals, where she placed 7th in 8.36.
Tina Meade ’11 has had a breakout season after a string of injuries and setbacks; after solid winter training, she has consistently cut down both her 5k and 3k times throughout the season. On Friday night, she ran 18:13.12 in the 5k, good for 9th place overall and showing signs of a strong outdoor season to come.
Ceci Davis-Hayes ’11 ran a season best of 5:15.72 in the mile, moving up strategically in the field throughout the race. On the distance side, Bret Scofield ’10 ran 10:33.33 in the 3000m to take second in her heat and 17th overall.
Next weekend, some athletes will head to Smith College for ECACs, while others will enjoy a weekend off to rest up before competing at Nationals March 12-14, at DePauw University in Indiana.
