"We had a great three weeks of Interterm training. We built a strong strength base over Interterm and will look to quicker workouts in the next few weeks to improve our speed," said tri-captain Helen Dole '04.
Carter Hamill '05 led the women at Tufts with a win in the 1500m, finishing a full 10 seconds ahead of the second-place runner and making an NCAA provisional mark. Hamill also ran the starting leg of the first-place Distance Medley Relay (DMR) along with Ariel Haney '06, tri-captain Aly Venti '04 and Shauneen Garrahan '07. Venti and Garrahan were also runners-up in the 1000m and 800m races, respectively.
"Individually, people raced very well even though most of us were put in races shorter than what we usually run to work on speed. It serves as a good sign for the end of the season," said Venti.
At Wesleyan, Haney and Garrahan began the meet with wins in individual and relay events. Haney won the 400m and the high jump and contributed to the winning 4 x 400m relay. Garrahan, Hamill and Venti finished 1-2-3 in the 1500m and Garrahan also placed first in the 1000m.
"The meet at Wesleyan went well. [Haney] had a phenomenal day. Winning the high jump was a great sign of how quickly she has come back into the new season, since we haven't had a lot of time to practice jumping yet. She took that confidence into both of her races and was very determined and confident," said Venti.
The men have had an equally impressive start. At Tufts, Mike Page '05 took the only win for the men in the 3000m, lowering his personal record by 10 seconds in the process.
"Mike Page is coming off a late season injury in cross-country to unbelievable success. He is dominating opponents, both mentally and physically," said tri-captain Janak Chandrasoma '04.
In a close race, Jack Morgan '05 placed second in the 1000m, finishing just .09 seconds out of first. He also ran the third leg of the second-place DMR team, which included senior tri-captain Andy Schneider, Chandrasoma and Dave Molina '05.
At the season opener at Wesleyan, the men gave even stronger performances. Molina led John Stanton-Geddes '04, Morgan and Schneider to a Jeff-dominated sweep of the first four places in the 1500m. The men also swept the 3000m with Dave Schreiner '06 leading first-years Cooper Knowlton, Rich Wilson and Nate Freese. Paul Whiting '04 won the triple jump, as Jon Ettinger '07 finished right behind him.
The team is excited about early season results. "Granted, we have most of the season ahead, but it really helps for people to be putting in good times now, so that everyone is competing as well as they can down the road," said Schneider. "It is good to see guys running well at this time. The end of the season will be here before too long, and in order to end the season right, you need to start the season right. We're on a good path so far."