If they were disappointed by their performance last week at the New York State Championships, the women’s indoor track and field team didn’t let it get in their way, as they came through with a strong finish, placing seventh out of 38 teams at this past weekend’s Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.
With five individuals finishing in the top five, the Yellowjackets scored 38 points. Over the two day competition, UR had six individual scorers and two scoring relay teams.
“Since it was team scoring, each of us had a little more incentive to run hard – do it for our teammates,” freshman Kate Medford said. “It really showed in the competition, with everyone’s strong starts and fierce finishes.”
Sophomore Stacie Woods agreed with Medford’s comments on the efforts of the team.
“We have been unlucky this season with a number of injuries and illnesses, and for our team to be able to pull off such a strong finish at ECACs is really a compliment to the amazing effort our women gave,” she said. “All of the hard work these ladies have been putting in has truly paid off. You couldn’t ask for better attitudes.”
On Friday, UR’s two pentathletes started the ball rolling by placing third and fourth in their event. Freshman Jamie Landry was third overall with 2,923 points, building on a win in the pentathlon high jump, where she cleared 1.62 meters. Junior Whitney Silkworth was fourth with 2,883 points, building on a second place finish in the pentathlon 800-meter run with a time of 2:30.17.
“I think the strong finishes both of our pentathletes gave started the meet off in a great way,” Woods said. “Many of our other athletes followed suit.”
Also on Friday, the Yellowjackets’ distance medley relay team, consisting of senior Kate Pohlman, sophomore Kellie Hasselwander, Woods and senior Jessica VanBinsbergen, placed fifth with a time of 12:41.73 and earned four points for the team.
The Yellowjackets left the meet on Friday night in sixth place and with high morale for the second day of competition to come.
When they returned on Saturday, the women continued to show their strength and, despite a drop in place, proved their abilities to the ECACs.
The top individual finish came from Woods, who placed second in the 500-meter run with a time of 1:19.78. Pohlman was fifth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:05.82 and junior Nancy Tremblay was sixth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.43 seconds.
In the field events, senior Cynthia Gurecki, despite an injured arm, managed to place third in the weight throw. She threw the weight 14.98 meters.
The last scoring event for the ‘Jackets was the 4×400-meter relay, where the team, consisting of freshman Joey Flyer, Pohlman, Medford and Woods, placed seventh with a time of 4:14.57, earning two points for the team.
The trip to the championships turned out to be a great season-ender for the women.
“All in all, I’m extremely proud of the women’s performance at this meet and am eager to see what happens in the upcoming outdoor season,” Woods said. “The potential our team has to do extremely well is obvious, and I believe that the outdoor season will be exciting to watch.”
Philbrick can be reached at ephilbrick@campustimes.org.
