Last weekend, the Bowdoin Women's Track Team finished a strong third out of six teams at MIT's Maine State vs. The City of Boston meet. Tufts achieved an easy victory with 200 points, followed by Colby (130), Bowdoin (98.5), USM (98), Bates (97.5), and MIT (81).
Every point counted at MIT, and Louise Duffus '07 scored 19 of them. The leading Bowdoin scorer, Duffus placed second in the discus throw (127'04") and third in both the hammer throw (136'04") and the shot put (38'07.75"). Furthermore, Duffus qualified for NESCACs, New England Division IIIs, and ECACs in all three events. Meeting the standard for each meet is an accomplishment, and hitting marks for all of the championships in all of her events is outstanding.
"Louise has been a great addition to the team this year," said senior co-captain Jane Cullina. "She works extremely hard in practice everyday, has a great attitude, and scores a lot of points!"
The top-scoring event for Bowdoin was the 5K, which also yielded 19 points. Neoma Palmer '07 came from behind to win the event in 18:22.74, followed by Ellen Beth '05 (18:36.84) in third, Audra Caler '05 (18:55.26) in fifth, and Kristen Brownell '07 (19:29.88) in 12th. The women raced in a cohesive pack early in the race before spreading out to diffuse their strength and talent.
Senior co-captain Kala Hardacker earned another victory for Bowdoin in the 1500-meter, sprinting past Tufts runners Sarah Crispin and Katie Sheedy in the final 200 meters for a time of 5:15.97. Teammate Gessy LePage '07 held off a USM runner for a fourth place finish in 5:30.68, followed by senior co-captain Lynne Davies in 5:35.75.
Erin "Every Event" Prifogle '07 finished second in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.72, just barely behind Colby powerhouse Karima Ummah. Prifogle's blazing time easily qualified her for NESCACs, DIIIs, and ECACs. Teammates Allison Cherry '04 (17.75) and Natasha Camilo '06 (18.01) finished 12th and 14th, respectively.
Prifogle also finished 14th in the javelin throw in her first time competing in the event, as well as seventh in the high jump after clearing 4'10." She rounded out her day by running on the 4x100-meter relay with Ruth Jacobson '06, Emily Hackert '06, and Kate Halloran '07 that finished third in 51.87.
Halloran and Jacobson also competed in the 100-meter. Halloran finished third in 13.06, followed by Jacobson in seventh with a time of 13.41. Both women qualified for NESCACs and DIIIs.
Qualifying for the same two meets, Emily Sheffield '06 ran an aggressive and quick 800 meters to finish second to Colby's Jess Minty. Sheffield's time of 2:21.80 is the tenth fastest in Division III New England so far this season. Teammates Allie Yanikoski '05 (2:28.47) and Cullina (2:31.54) finished fifth and 11th, respectively.
The 400-meter hurdles, an event that requires such a unique combination of speed and strength that it has often been compared to the 800-meter, was filled with tough competition. However, Camilo had a strong race and finished seventh with a time of 1:13.00.
Camilo also nabbed a point in the long jump, with her jump of 14'11.2," which earned her eighth place. Cherry finished 12th with her leap of 13'11.75."
Also contributing valuable points to the team, Becca Perry '07 finished sixth in the pole vault, tying her personal record by clearing 8'00" and qualifying for NESCACs.
In her first track meet this year, Kristen Lycett '07 barely missed placing in the discus with her ninth-place throw of 94'04."
In the final event of the day, Davies, Yanikoski, Hardacker, and Livy Lewis '07 combined to finish second in the 4x800-meter relay. Lewis tore through her two laps to run a 2:22 split, which would have placed her third in the open 800-meter. She gained on the Tufts leader, finishing off the relay for a time of 10:01.43.
This weekend, the women look for a team victory in the Aloha Relays, in which they will act as hosts against rivals Colby, Bates, USM, and Mount Holyoke.