MEDFORD, Mass--The Williams women basked in victory in the sun at Tufts on Saturday, taking back the Division III New England outdoor title from MIT. Picking up unexpected points in several events for a decisive win, the Ephs produced several NCAA qualifiers at the same time.
Meet highlights included senior captain Elise Johnson taking second in the 100m dash in 12.20 seconds and coming back to win the 100m hurdles in 14.28. Johnson also took fourth in the 200m dash, behind Hillary Higgs '12, who took third and doubled up in the 400m dash, snagging second place.
The 800m brought exciting performances, as Lizzy Danhakl '11 placed out of the second heat and ran 2:13.54 to take fourth place and qualify for nationals. Olga Kondratjeva '10 ran 2:13.95 in the fast heat for sixth overall, also qualifying for nationals.
Both Maya Harakawa '12 and Sarah Tory '11 bordered on provisional qualifiers, Harakawa in the 400m hurdles, running 1:04.47 for third place, and Tory taking second in the 3000m steeplechase, running 11:14.71.
Other top performers included Tanasia Hoffler '13, who took second in the long jump (5.87m) and contributed to the 4x100m relay team's second-place performance, senior captain Nora Mitchell taking fifth in the 400m hurdles and running an impressive split in her leg of the second-place 4x400m relay, and Jasmine Adekoya taking second in the discus (40.57m).
The hot temperatures had a greater effect on athletes in the longer distances, where times suffered slightly. That didn't stop the Ephs from racking up points in the 5000m and 10000m. In the 5k, Jennifer Gossels '13 and Annie Dear '13 took second and fourth, respectively, while Elleree Erdos '12 kicked in for eighth place to score. In the 10k, Bret Scofield '10 ran the first 10k of her collegiate career and took third in 37:43.83, followed by Lauren Goldstein-Kral '12 in eighth. Blair Robinson '13 came just short of scoring, in ninth place, but ran a consistent 39:07.43 in her first ever 10k.
While Division III New Englands concluded the season for many Ephs, those athletes who will be continuing their season will travel to Division I New Englands at Northeastern next weekend.
