The track and field teams competed last Saturday at home at the Bowdoin Invitational at Magee-Samuelson track. The women finished with 164 points to put them in second place, ahead of Husson (80), Colby (56), University of Maine-Farmington (39) and St. Joseph’s (7) but just behind the University of Southern Maine (199), who won the meet.
“We were resting a couple of our people who would score a lot of points for us,” said captain Lucy Knott ’17. “So in the future, our points situation could be a little higher, which would be nice. But we also had some great moments.”
Before transitioning from the indoor to outdoor seasons, a few Bowdoin women also competed in the NCAA Championships in March. Katie Krupp ’16 and Sarah Kelley ’18 both received their first All-American honors during a successful weekend. Kelley finished the mile in 4:56.40 to finish in sixth place and was one of just three non-seniors in the group of 10 competitors.
She finished just four seconds behind the winning pace. Meanwhile, Krupp broke her own record in the triple jump with a distance of 11.92 meters on her third attempt and finished fifth in the triple jump.
The Bowdoin women were outstanding on Saturday during the throwing events, sweeping all but one. Pamela Zabala ’17 won the discus with 36.17 meters, Knott captured the hammer with 44.73 meters and Ellen Masalsky ’17 won the javelin with 38.66 meters. Addison Carvajal ’16 also had a strong performance, winning the high jump with a 1.55-meter jump. Meanwhile on the track, the 4x100 relay team did very well and Meghan Bellerose ’17, who won the 800 meters in 2:19.77, and Sara Ory ’19, who won the 400 meter hurdles in 1:08.52.
“A lot of the marks on both the men’s and the women’s side of the throwing events put people in the top five or top three in NESCAC standings, so that is really exciting,” said Knott.
Knott noted that this was also an exciting time for the first years who got their first taste of the outdoors. The transition from indoor to outdoor competition can be difficult because of the alterations in the events in both settings. For example, the indoor track is 200 meters while the outdoor track is 400 meters. In addition, pole vaulters have to do their events inside even at an outdoor meet which can be tough for them because it removes them from the rest of the team.
“I think the majority of our team would prefer indoor because you’re so much less susceptible to the elements. You don’t have to worry about wind or if it’s going to be rainy or cold,” said Knott.
Knott said that the team already feels like a cohesive unit at this point, with the first years fully integrated, which is an impressive feat in a sport like track.
“Track is such an individualized event,” said Knott. “There are so many different event groups within track, so it’s very easy to rely on your event group. This year, there is such a collective feeling [on] the team, and we’ve pretty much broken down the event group barriers.”
Looking forward, the women will next attend the Middlebury Invitational this weekend.
The following weekend is the Aloha Relays, which is the women’s state meet held at Bowdoin. The women have won this meet the last seven years in a row and are hoping to get the win again, a goal that Knott said is currently at the top of everyone’s mind. After a great start to the outdoor season, the team hopes to only go up from here.