This weekend, the women's track team will welcome 25 of the most competitive Division III teams in New England to Farley Field House for the 2008 Division III New England Regional Championship.
Having had a chance to compete at Boston University's Valentine's Day Invitational last Friday and Saturday, the women have every reason to be optimistic about their performance this weekend.
The Valentine's Day Invitational always presents a new challenge to Bowdoin each year, hosting many Division I and professional athletes, who come to race at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center, widely regarded as one of the country's fastest indoor tracks.
"The big open meets are a challenge to school team runners," said Coach Peter Slovenski. "The rhythm of an open meet is different . . . You have to find a new warm-up routine, and you have to be ready to run with people you've never seen before and you'll never see again."
"BU is a really exciting meet to run at," said Dana Riker '10. "There are a lot of fast competitors and it's a great meet to set a personal record or drop your times and qualify for some bigger meets this season."
The Bears took advantage of the fast track and competitive atmosphere, too, with many strong performances. Among those included Ali Chase '09 and Jess Sokolow '09, who both set personal bests in the 800-meter run; Chase ran a time of 2:16.87, and Sokolow finished in 2:18.70.
Annie Monjar '09 was able to hit the provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III Championship in the 5,000-meter run with a personal best of 17:08.91, also breaking the school record set in 2004.
"[Monjar] was on NCAA qualifying pace the whole way," Slovenski said of the 5K. "In the final five laps she maintained the pace, but you could tell it was painful. You have to be physically gifted, but also mentally tough to run the 5,000 meter."
The day's highlights also included first year Laura Peterson's performance in the long jump.
Peterson finished seventh in a highly competitive field, and set a personal record of 17 feet, 8.75 inches.
In the throwing events, Kelsey Borner '09 and Shemeica Binns '09 both posted high finishes, with Binns finishing ninth overall in the shot put with a personal best of 41'.5", and Borner taking 11th in the weight throw, throwing 48'5.25".
"It was really amazing to see Bowdoin athletes placing well in their heats at a meet where you are against some of the best D-I and D-III schools," Sokolow said. "It is good to have experience at a meet high in energy, and I think it will be really helpful this weekend."
The Bears, who posted a seventh place finish at the D-III New England Championship last year, are setting their sights higher this year, hoping to finish among the top three teams in the region. That the competition is on their home ground is all the more reason for the team to be confident.
"I think it is exciting for the women to be hosting D-III New Englands," said captain Alison Pilon '09. "It is a huge advantage to compete on our home turf, since we know this facility better than any other team."
Slovenski agreed.
"A home meet involves a lot of work, but it's worth it," Slovenski said. "In past years when we've hosted, the team was able to do 5-10 points better than we hoped to do. Some great things can happen for the home team."
The D-III New England Regional Championship will begin Friday, February 20 at 4 p.m. with the pentathlon, and continue on Saturday the 21, with field events beginning at 11 a.m., and the first running events starting at 12 p.m.