Nine Eastern College Athletic Conference championship qualifications came from the women’s indoor track and field team when they traveled to St. Lawrence University to participate in the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships over the weekend. The Yellowjackets earned 41.5 points to place ninth out of 16 teams.
“The state meet for me was a little nerve wracking considering there are lots of new freshmen from other schools that are proving to be quite the athletes,” sophomore Bridget Mayne said.
“The competition was intense, and it was good, but we have faced equally good competition over the course of the season – and we have faced it with much more passion and much better success,” head coach Barbara Hartwig said. “I also had a number of very capable people with the cold and flu who weren’t able to perform up to their standards.”
Sophomore Jamie Landry had started the team off with five points by placing fourth in the pentathlon championships, which were held on Feb. 18. She continued to help her team on Saturday by earning three more individual points as well as four points as a member of the 4×400 relay team. The 4×400, with additional team members freshman Prashanthi Chodagiri, junior Stacie Woods and senior Whitney Silkworth, placed fifth, finishing in 4:10.99, which qualified them for ECACs. Landry placed seventh in the long jump with an ECAC distance of 5.11 meters, and she placed eighth in the high jump, clearing the bar set at 1.53 meters.
Two other relay teams brought in points for UR. The all-freshman 4×800 team, consisting of Hilary Haefner, Sadie Gollub, Suzanne Giunta and Allie McComb, placed sixth with a time of 10:06.22. The distance medley relay team of Haefner, junior Kellie Hasselwander, Woods and Giunta placed eighth, finishing in 12:56.04.
Haefner had a great day overall, as she also finished sixth in the 1000, with an ECAC qualifying time of 3:09.91.
Individual running points also came from sophomore Nancy Tremblay, who qualified for ECACs by placing fifth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.53 seconds. This was her first race of the season, as she dives for the swimming and diving team for most of the winter season.
“I thought states went very well,” Tremblay said. “I was wild-carded and [my time] qualified me for ECACs.”
Gollub placed seventh in the 800, finishing in 2:27.77, and junior Michelle Andrews clocked in at 8.81 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles, which qualified her for ECACs.
In the field events, UR earned 12 points. Junior Anjuli Cherukuri placed sixth in the pole vault by lifting herself over the 2.90-meter bar. Mayne finished seventh in the shot put with a throw of 11.33. This was an especially impressive performance, as she was seeded 17th of 19 participants.
“[I] knew that I had to step it up a notch if I wanted to help my team,” Mayne said.
“Bridget Mayne had a break out meet in the shot put throwing over three feet further than her personal best,” Hartwig said. “She was very motivated and it just clicked.”
The ‘Jackets had two placers in the weight throw; senior Kate Odian finished fifth with a throw of 13.83, and sophomore Jonelle Redhead threw 13.77 to finish right behind Odian in sixth.
This weekend, all of the qualifiers will travel to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. to compete in the ECAC championships.
“I hope to see better performances this weekend at ECACs,” Hartwig said. “It’s the biggest championship meet outside of nationals, so I expect intense competition. We need to step it up and compete with some passion. We are capable of so much more than we showed last weekend.”
Philbrick is a member of the class of 2009.
