Women catch second

The women’s track and field team traveled a few miles up the road on Saturday to Roberts Wesleyan College to compete against 14 other teams from upstate New York. It was their first scoring meet of the outdoor season and the team came through in a big way, even though the lineup was set to encourage individual success, not the highest possible point total. The team finished in second place with 105 points, trailing only SUNY Geneseo, which posted 119 points. “It was a nice day and a very fast track, but we were really just focusing on individuals,” Head Coach Barbara Hartwig said. “Whatever else happened was just a bonus. We had beautiful weather and good competition, and it produced some good results.”Given the team result, it was a given that the individual performances lived up to their expectations. “I think that most people were pleased with their performances,” Hartwig said. “I think it was a confidence booster for a number of people.”In the 100-meter dash, senior Effuah Alleyne placed fifth with a time of 13.11 seconds. Freshman Stacie Woods ran 1:00.91 in the 400-meter dash to finish third. Senior Katie O’Brien had a very strong day, scoring points in several events. In the 200-meter dash, she ran 26.39 seconds to finish fifth. She followed that up with a victory in the 800-meter run, which she completed in 2:17.30. Also scoring in the 800-meter run was junior Jessica Van Binsbergen, who finished sixth with a time of 2:29.03. In the 1,500-meter run, Van Binsbergen ran 4:59.80, placing seventh. Also finishing in the top 10 in the 1,500 were sophomore Nora Craighead and freshman Louisa Slocum, who came in ninth and tenth respectively. “The 1,500-meter runners all ran very intelligent races and were very competitive,” Hartwig said.The 5,000-meter run was another strong event, with three women scoring points. Freshman Kellie Hasselwander ran 18:45.93 to finish in fifth place and qualify for Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. With a time of 19:28.04, sophomore Elena Janda was sixth. Behind her in seventh was freshman Stephanie Holowacz, who ran 19:36.90. In the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Whitney Silkworth placed third with a time of 1:07.94. The best event of the day for the team as a whole was the 3,000-meter steeplechase. With a time of 12:19.82, junior Rebecca Hayes placed second. Sophomore Stacy Allen was fifth with a time of 12:53.72, and junior Elizabeth Boerman was sixth, finishing in 13:00.47. All three women posted personal record times and qualified for the state championship meet.The 400-meter relay team ran yet another solid race, placing fifth with a time of 51.58 seconds. The 1,600-meter relay team dominated their event, winning with a time of 4:07.00. “They won very convincingly,” Hartwig said. “They really haven’t been pushed by the competition the last two weeks.”Sophomore Melinda Huang marked 1.55 meters in the high jump to earn fourth place. Senior Grace Kraay excelled in the throwing events as usual, scoring points in each of the three events she entered. In the shot put, she placed seventh with a mark of 10.55 meters. She marked 34.77 meters in the discus throw to place fourth. She placed third in the javelin throw, marking 35.27 meters. In the hammer throw, senior Anne Baker dominated with a mark of 46.73 meters, winning by more than seven meters.The most important outcome of the meet was not the second place finish, but the continued progress from the prior weeks. “As the season goes on, we’re going to see that consistency we’ve been looking for,” Hartwig said. “We’re pretty strong across the board.”The team heads to Hamilton College this weekend, their second-to-last meet before the postseason starts. If they continue to progress at the current rate, they should be ready to go once the State meet rolls around. Swidler can be reached at dswidler@campustimes.org.