The Five College Connecticut College meet was originally scheduled for Smith College, where 30 teams were supposed to compete. Due to inclement weather, namely a thunderstorm that never came, the venue was changed to New London, Conn., creating some setbacks. "There was no 10k, but there was going to be one at Smith. So that disappointed a lot of people," said Alison Dimon '03.
The smaller setting, however, did allow a number of athletes to try events which they had never done before. In the 3k, Martha Nelson '03 finished first and Rebecca Woo '02 finished fourth in her first try at the distance. Dimon finished seventh in the same event.
The using of athletes in new events is helpful for training purposes, according to Helen Dole '04. "They're mostly longer events so being at the beginning of the season you build strength," she said.
In her first try at long jumping, Alison Stahl '03 impressed many individuals when she finished second. She later added third- and fifth-place performances in 100m and 200m.
Dole, a newcomer to the outdoor track team, finished in third place in the 800m (2:25.8) with Kate Hamill '03, Alyson Venti '04, Annie Perez '02 and Tri-captain Amie Shei '02 in her first time competing in the event, finishing in the fifth through eighth spots. Dole also added a fifth-place performance in the triple jump.
The highlight of the event was the 5k. Tri-captain Molly Burnett '02 won in wire-to-wire fashion, followed closely by Emily Lobsenz '02, Hilary Plum '03 and Erinn White '04, who finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Burnett set an NCAA provisional time in her win.
In other events, Hamill added to her fifth-place performance in the 800m with another fifth-place performance in the 1500m. In the 400m relay the Jeff team of Perez, Hamill, Dole, and Shei finished second.
The women next went to the non-scoring Bantam Invitational at Trinity College.
Venti had a fifth-place performance in the 3k, her first attempt at the distance. She was successful in her first try and even won her section.
Stahl finished sixth in the long jump and came back to finish 14th in the 200m dash. Dimon ran well in the 1500m to finish fifth in her section. Nelson continued her strong early season with a fifth-place finish in her section of the 1500m.
Katie Famous '01 returned to the team after recovering from knee and back injuries and finished 25th in the 3k run. Shei pulled double duty at this competition in the 200m and 400m events, finishing 21st in the former and seventh in the latter.
Laurel Kilgour '03 and Perez were integral to the team's success this day as they both finished in the top eight in the 800m. The two women also contributed to the 400m relay. Two Jeff runners finished back-to-back in 10k when Lobsenz and Plum finished second and third.
The meet was highlighted by a second-place performance in the 400m relay. Amherst's team was represented by the team of Shei, Kilgour, Perez and Hamill. Hamill had a great meet as she also added a third in the 400m hurdles.
The team's next meet is the Williams Relays at Williams College on Saturday, an event the team looks forward to participating in every
season.