Facing cold, drizzly skies last Saturday, the women's track team garnered three victories against the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.
Though UNH's Wildcat Invitational was not scored, the strong performances in tough conditions bode well for the annual Aloha Relays this weekend, when schools from across Maine will come to Bowdoin to compete at the Magee-Samuelson track.
As usual, competitors in the 800-meter run were particularly impressive, with Grace Kerr '11 taking first in the event with a time of 2:19.66, followed closely by Alex Peacock-Villada '11, who took second with a time of 2:19.78.
Quad-captain Kelsey Borner '09 won the discus throw with a personal record of 38.99 meters, just 1.5 meters ahead of the second-place finisher.
Teammate Shemeica Binns '09 also placed well in the throws, taking second in the shot put and third in the discus.
"Our throwers had an impressive day," said Coach Peter Slovenski. "They were able to stay right with the Division I competitors."
Chris Head '11 won the pole vault by more than two feet with a jump of 9'9", over two feet higher than the second-place finisher.
"The atmosphere was pretty relaxed," quad-captain Dana Riker '10 said. "People wanted to perform well, but the consensus was that there was less pressure because it was a non-scoring dual meet. People responded differently to the weather, but overall I think people just focused on their events. Weather is something you have to be ready for during spring sports in New England."
The competition will heat up this upcoming weekend with the Aloha Relays, which the women have won the past two years. Though the Bears are defending champions, and the favorites going into the competition, they will need to focus their competitive energies on maintaining momentum and gearing up for further championship meets.
"The team is psyched for the Aloha Relays," Riker said. "It's a fun meet with some good competition, and we have the benefit of hosting. It's always one of the favorite meets of the year, and inspires a lot of strong performances."
The Aloha Relays will prepare the Bears for the NESCAC Championship on April 25 at Connecticut College, where they hope to finish among the top three teams in the conference.
The NESCAC Championship is the first meet in the team's championship season, and will be followed by the New England Regional Championship the following weekend at Springfield College.