A successful meet marked by two winning relays and two individual victories proved that being a small team does not necessarily result in small outcomes. "The women's team really came together this weekend," said senior tri-captain Aly Venti. "We only had 11 competitors and managed to score 60 points and place third. The top two teams, Williams [College] and Tufts [University], each had over 30 girls on their teams. We may be small in numbers, but this weekend's meet really showed our incredible depth and talent as a team and how well we come together as a unit."
The winning distance medley relay team of Venti, Ginger Polich '06, Shauneen Garrahan '07 and Lyndsey Scott '06 provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with their winning time of 12:18.18. Junior Carter Hamill set a new facility record by more than 30 seconds with her victory in the 5000m race. She also ran a leg of the winning 4x800m relay that also included Polich, Venti and Garrahan. In addition to contributing to the two winning relays, Garrahan also dominated in her individual event, the 1000m race, where she took first place with a time of 3:01.43. Venti raced her best 1500m of the year, finishing third.
"The women had their strongest finish ever at the Div. III New Englands," said tri-captain Helen Dole '04. "Our assistant coach John Adamson told the team on the bus on the way home that it was the most impressive team effort at a meet he's seen in seven years of coaching. Shauneen [Garrahan] ran one of the most exciting races of the day to win the 1000, battling against Williams' All-American Jenn Campbell all the way and ending up victorious."
The men also had a winning 4x800m relay, as Dave Molina '05, Jack Morgan '05, John Babbott '07 and Andrew Schneider '04 set a meet record. In individual performances, Mike Page '05 shone with his school record-breaking third-place finish in the 3000m, also qualifying him provisionally for the NCAA Championships. Morgan and Schneider both placed fourth in the 800m and 1000m races, respectively. Dave Schreiner '06 took sixth in the 3000m, earning All-New England Honors and setting a personal record.
The men and women will reunite at the Open New England Championships this weekend at Boston University and then travel to Bowdoin College the following weekend for the ECAC Championships.