Although no one on the women's team was able to win an individual event, the final results were proof of the Jeffs' widely distributed strength. In addition, the relay teams also demonstrated their excellent teamwork.
The women's 4 x 800m relay team led the events of the day with a runner-up finish in a time of 9:36.84. The distance medley relay also had an outstanding fifth place finish and their time qualified them for the Nationals. The 4 x 400m relay placed sixth in their race with their fastest time of the season. Tri-captain Amie Shei '02 took fifth in the 600m with a season's best time, winning All-New England honors in the process. In the 1500m, freshman phenom Carter Hamill broke another school record and passed the NCAA qualifying mark to take fourth in 4:40.75. Becca Woo '02 finished 14 seconds later in seventh. Erinn White '04 grabbed third place in the 5000m and also lowered her personal record with a time of 18:19.79. Sarah DeGraaf '05 and Cecily Brewer '02 came in sixth and 15th after her. In the 800m, Laurel Kilgour '03 came in eighth with All-New England honors and a season's best time, while Kate Hamill '03 came in less than a second after her. Also in the 800m, tri-captain Anne Perez '02 placed 12th with a season best time that also qualified her for the ECACs in two weeks.
In the field events, freshman standout Lee-Jay Henry gave the Jeffs a boost by breaking her personal record and taking seventh in the long jump. Only a short time later, Henry came in 14th in the triple jump.
Aly Venti '04 continued her fast-paced season as she raced to an impressive fourth place finish in the 1000m with a season-best time of 3:03.97. In the 3000m, tri-captain Emily Lobsenz received All-New England honors for the fourth straight year with her time of 10:42.05. Ali Dimon '03 came in less than a minute after her with a 15th place finish. In her first pentathlon of the season, Helen Dole '04 grabbed an impressive eighth place finish and qualified for ECACs.
The men's team also churned out a number of strong relay performances. The 4 x 800m relay team came in third with a time of 8:05.04, while the men took eighth in the 4 x 400m relay. John Stanton-Geddes '04 led the way for the individual events with a fourth place finish in the 1500m. Although he was pushed down in the aggressive beginning of the race, Stanton-Geddes was able to make up for it in the restart, though he just barely missed the NCAA qualifying mark by less than a second for the second straight week.
The sprinters also came to the meet ready to race. In the 55m dash, Jay Wagstaff '05 came in fifth, making the finals and receiving All-New England honors. Before helping out as a leg in the 4 x 400m relay race, Janak Chandrasoma '04 came in eighth in the 400m, taking the last All-New England spot. In the 800m, Dave Molina '05 and Jack Morgan '05 took sixth and 12th place, with Molina setting a new personal record. Andrew Schneider '04 placed 10th in the 1000m.
This weekend, the teams will race separately again in the Open New England Championships. Open New Englands warrant stiffer competition from the field because the meet features local runners from Division I, II and III schools.
"This should be our most competitive meet yet due to the competition," said tri-captain Pat Hayes '03.
On Friday and Saturday, the women who have qualified will race at Tufts University while the men who have qualified will battle it out at nearby Boston University.
This weekend should provide the competition and pacing necessary for Jeffs such as Woo, Stanton-Geddes and Lobsenz to significantly jump in times that will hopefully qualify them for Nationals.