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Volume CXXXI, Number 24 |
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Runners make presence known
ACADIA SENESE
STAFF WRITER
The Women's Track and Field Team made its presence known at last weekend's NESCAC championship meet at Bates College. Despite driving wind, rain, ice, and snow, the footprints left on the track were indicative of a great showing by the Polar Bears.
The team took fourth place overall-a huge improvement over
last year's seventh place finish.
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| Katie Walker '05, left, and Julia Febiger '03 in Farley Field House this week. Rainy weather forced the track team inside for practice. (Liesl Finn, Bowdoin Orient) |
The Bears' point total improved from last year's 39 points
to 92 points. "It was definitely a team effort," Kristen Dummer
'04 said. "Our team is really a coherent force; we all work together."
Head coach Peter Slovenski also credited team camaraderie
for the strong showing last weekend. "We had the best spirit of any
team in the sleet and snow," he said. "The other teams were
huddled in the field house, but Bowdoin students were cheering for each
other all day. It was a lot of fun to be part of such an inspired effort."
This camaraderie reflected the leadership of senior captains
Casey Kelley, Kate Waller, and Karen Yeoman. They motivated the team to
the fourth-place finish, and Slovenski gave them "all the credit"
for pushing the team.
The Polar Bears boasted two NESCAC champions at Bates: Audra Caler '05
in the 5000-meter run (in a national qualifying time of 18:00.5) and Julia
Febiger '03 with a win in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 1:04.71.
First year Katie Landry, with a gutsy performance in the
steeplechase, ran a national qualifying time of her own (11:51.71) and
placed 11th overall.
The Bears gathered several second-place finishes as well. Yeoman, with
a personal best and a national-qualifying jump, placed second in the triple
jump event with a leap of 36'10.5". Teammate Delia Van Loenen '01
took second in the high jump, clearing 5'1".
Junior Libby Barney claimed second place in the 1500-meter
run with a season's best time of 4:48.51. Wrapping up the second place
group, Bowdoin's 4x400-meter relay team (made up of Febiger, Dummer, Jane
Cullina '04, and Kate Walker '05) finished with a time of 4:05.56.
Waller, thrilled with the team's overall performance, commented
on the meet: "Our team really has a winning attitude. Everyone fights
for every point they can squeeze," she said. "We stayed outside
to cheer for every last point, even in the nasty weather. Williams may
have won, but we had more fun out there and were much tougher on the track."
"We were the only team that was out there cheering,"
Dummer said. "Having each other out therehelped us a lot. People
who weren't even competing came out to support us."
The team competes in Springfield, Massachusetts this weekend
in the Division III Championship meet.
"Our goal is to be top five," Dummer said. "It's a high expectation but we're psyched up for the challenge."