The men did not fare as well. Partly because of the recent frigid temperatures, much of the team was battling illness. Considerably weakened, the Jeffs came in 16th place.
Women
Saturday was very much a success for the women's team. The day started off well as the distance medley relay team ran its way to a first-place finish, and thanks to the 4x800-meter relay team, the day ended just as well.
The distance medley team, made up of two first-years, Sophie Galleher and Mary Doris Reggie, and two sophomores, Molly Priedeman and Caitlin McDermott-Murphy, should remain intact next season. For the 4x800 team, comprised of Priedeman, Murphy and senior tri-captains Shauneen Garrahan and Maria Millard, that is not the case. Nevertheless, they finished their final Div. III New England Championships in fashion, claiming a come-from-behind victory. "We scored more points than we have ever gotten in the Div. III [New England] meet last weekend," said McDermott-Murphy. Including the third-place finish of the 4x400-meter relay, the Jeffs' relays accounted for 29 of the team's 93 total points.
The only individual victory for the Jeffs came from Elise Tropiano '09 in the 5,000-meter run. Running the race in 17:24, she qualified provisionally for the upcoming NCAA meet. Sophomore Nicole Anderson and juniors Katie Moravec and Laura Mortimer also ran well in the event; each posted her fastest time of the season, finishing third, fifth and sixth, respectively, and claiming 23 points for the Jeffs.
Other members of the team ran similarly strong races. Heather Wilson '08 finished the 3,000-meter run in just over 10 minutes, earning third place. Garrahan ran well, finishing second in the mile and third in the 1,000-meter run. Murphy, in addition to her victorious relay legs, ran an intelligent race, finishing third in the 800-meter run. "I am really excited about the depth of our team this season," said Murphy.
Men
Fighting a number of lingering bugs, the team as a whole did not live up to expectations. The day was not a complete wash, however. Despite a frustrating clock and lap malfunction, sophomore Harrison Lakehomer ran a strong race in the 5,000-meter run, coming in third. Basile Beaty '08 came in fourth in the 600-meter run, and senior tri-captain Sam Hayman managed to grab the final scoring spot in the 800-meter run, finishing eighth.
Beaty and Hayman were joined by underclassmen Keith Pendergrasss '10 and Thomas Foote '09 in the 4x400-meter, finishing 11th overall. The 4x800-meter relay team did even better; comprised of junior Romulo Cabeza, senior Eric Glustrom and first-years Jimmy Swanson and Will Bell, the team ran their fastest time of the season, good enough for eighth place.
Swanson and Bell also ran strong individual races in the mile. Despite setting a personal record, Bell missed scoring and Swanson finished just after him.
The distance medly relay team was not quite as successful-or lucky. Jack Kiley '09 was tripped in the middle of the opening leg. Despite an impressive recovery, the team was unable to make up the lost time, never really challenging the leaders and finishing 10th.
"A lot of the men were sick or recovering from being sick this weekend," said Stephen Stewart '09. "So it only makes sense that the results were not what everyone expected."
This weekend, the Jeffs return to action in the Open New England Championships at Boston University.