Head Coach Erik Nedeau was very satisfied with the team's hard work this past month, especially since this year's Interterm was different than past years. "Interterm was a week longer this year than it normally is, so we had an extra week of double sessions and practices without thoughts of classes, so we were able to get a lot done."
Nedeau expects the team to improve immensely over the next month or so as the workouts become less strength oriented and aimed more at increasing speed. "This past weekends' races went well, but you could tell that people were a little flatter then they would normally be," he said. "But now that classes have resumed, we are going to be backing off of the workload and the strength that they have gained will become more evident as we shift into a speed focus and start to get better marks as we are more rested."
Men
At the Wesleyan Open, Mike Harbus '08 crossed the tape first in the 3,000-meter run at a time of 8:58.82. The 4x400-meter relay also placed first thanks to solid runs by sophomores Basile Beaty, Rom Cabeza, senior co-captain Tim Porter and junior co-captain Sam Hayman.
A week later at Tufts, Harbus posted a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:35.06. The men's team left Tufts with a ninth-place team score.
At the Cardinal Invite, sophomore Tomas Morrissey had a terrific day, finishing first by nearly 13 seconds in the 3,000 with a time of 8:50.83. He followed that up with a third-place finish in the one-mile race in 4:29.80. The Jeffs had a strong showing in the 3,000 after Morrisey, with junior Rich Wilson coming in fifth, first-year Peter Foote finishing eighth and junior Rob Boley rounding out the top 10.
Hayman posted an impressive time of 1:08.19 in the 500-meter run, good enough for a second place. Hayman grabbed another second place result in the 4x400 relay along with Beaty, Cabeza and first-year Steve Stewart. The distance medley relay team of Porter, junior John Babbott, sophomore Ben Read and first-year Harrison Lakehomer finished fifth. Babbott also came in sixth in the 800-meter run. In the 5,000, Dave Schreiner, finished third.
Women
At the Wesleyan Open, sophomore Heather Wilson and first-year Zandra Walton finished one-two in the mile run in 5:20.42 and 5:20.77, respectively. Amherst had another one-two finish in the 3,000, with sophomore Katie Moravec beating Liz Dalton '09 by 11 seconds. Other winners included Wilson again in the 800 at 2:28.44 and senior co-captain Ginger Polich in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:06.49. First-years Caitlin McDermott Murphy and Jenny Mancino also had impressive showings with silvers in the 600-meter run and high jump, respectively.
At Tufts, Walton whizzed past the competition, winning the 1,000. She also anchored the winning distance medley relay squad which also featured McDermott-Murphy, first-year Carly Levenson and Polich. The Jeffs finished the meet with an impressive third-place team score.
The few women participating in the Terrier Classic ran well against Div. I competition, led by Walton's 19th-place finish in the 800. Polich came in right behind her at 23rd, and McDermott-Murphy finished 27th in the mile. In the 5,000, Wilson and first-year Nicole Anderson finished 24th and 25th, respectively.
Meanwhile, their teammates did well at the Cardinal Invite. Sophomore Kim Partee came in second in the mile run at 5:24.77, while Moravec came in 10th. Partee and Moravec finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 1,000. In the 500, first-year Mariana Palacios finished third with a time of 1:27.57 In the 800, Levenson came in fifth.
The Jeffs return to the track on Saturday at the Smith Invitational.