Boston, MA--The Williams women headed to Boston
on Friday to compete in the annual collegiate Boston Indoor Games,
hosted by Northeastern University. Escaping the frigid outdoor
temperatures to compete on the reputably fast indoor track at
Reggie Lewis, the women’s track and field team looked to snag
qualifiers for championship meets at this event.
The Ephwomen earned 35 points, good for 7th place on a 17-team lineup that included several top-ranked Division I schools such Division I schools as Northeastern, University of Maine, UMass Amherst, and the University of New Hampshire.
The field events kicked off the evening meet, with a strong showing of Williams women in both the jumps and throws and a great deal of improvement in all events, as well. First-year Julie Paschal had an impressive performance in the high jump, finishing second and clearing 1.62m. Brooke Johnson ’13 doubled in the long jump and triple jump, bettering her performances from last weekend’s Wheaton meet by a large margin in both events and capturing 6th place in the triple.
In the throws, Eileen Becker ’12 improved upon last week’s performance as she threw 11.31m in the shot put. First-year Jasmine Adekoya captured 10th place in the weight throw, overtaking her seed to throw 14.04m.
On the oval, Williams runners took advantage of the fast banked track to run some of their fastest times this season. Hillary Higgs ’12 showcased her versatility as she competed in the 55m dash, the 200m, and the 400m. In the 400, Higgs took 4th place in a blistering 59.00, then turning around to snag 3rd in the 200, running 25.76. Both times were well within the qualifying standards for Open New Englands.
The mid-distance and distance squads, facing some fast Division I athletes, made use of their competition to run gutsy and strategic races. In the 1000m, Olga Kondratjeva ’10 moved her way through a pack to finish 5th in 3:01.93 and qualify for Open New Englands. Ariel Williams ’10 competed in her first indoor 800m in years, finishing strong in 2:23. Also in the 800, Kathie Nyholm ’10 had a powerful kick to finish just within the DIII New England qualifying time of 2:28. Ceci Davis-Hayes ’11 also captured a DIII qualifier, running 5;27 in the mile.
Williams had three women qualify for ECACs in the 3k, two of them running PRs to achieve qualifying times of Open New Englands, as well. After waiting patiently for the penultimate individual event of the evening, the first-year duo of Jennifer Gossels and Annie Dear ran smart races to finish 3rd and 8th in 10:11 and 10:17, respectively, gaining them both entry into the Open New England championship. Tina Meade ’11 wasn’t far behind, running a personal best of 10;28. Meade’s performance is a testament to her impressive fitness after a long stretch of illness and injury.
The Ephs head to MIT next weekend for a much
more intimate tri-meet, where they will face Coast Guard Academy
and MIT.
