Congratulations, Seniors!

Kristen, Amanda, Kirsten, and Becca at the track banquet..

Coach Carla with track seniors at last week's banquet.

Sunday, May 19, 2013 is graduation day at Smith.  Congratulations to senior team members Kristen Warren, Becca Gordon, Kirsten Silfvenius, and Amanda Zakoske, as well as Exercise and Sport Studies graduate assistant coach, Courtney Jaworski.  We will miss you all!

Update from ECACs

(L-R) Meadeshia, Maya, Kirsten, Amanda, and Danielle

Day one of the two-day Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship competition finished after 9pm.  We were grateful it was a short drive home from Springfield College.  It had been a long but exciting day of competition.  The 5k was supposed to start at 7:15, but the meet was running late.  Danielle--and the 30 other women racing the 5k--were on the starting line closer to 8pm.  By this time, the wind had died down, the temperature was just right for running, the track lights were on, and it was the perfect evening to run fast.  With so many runners, the start was intense.  Danielle got off the line fast and positioned herself perfectly in the middle of the pack on the outside.  For the first mile, she held steady, and by mile two, she started picking people off, going from 18th place to 9th place.  In the last mile, she moved up to seventh, taking runners by surprise as she flew by them.  She finished in 18:03.90, a personal record by 12 seconds!  She also scored two points for Smith and made the All-ECAC Team.  

Earlier in the day, when we were still applying sunscreen and drinking water determinedly, Amanda completed the first four events of the heptathlon, setting two season bests and a personal best in the process.  She ran the 100m hurdles in 16.04, and set a season best in the high jump with a leap of 1.42 meters.  She shot putted a personal best with a throw of 10.47 meters, and ran the 200 meter dash in 27.26.  She finished ninth for the day, with three events to go.  Kirsten ran in the 100m hurdles in 14.63 seconds, missing qualifying for finals by .02 seconds.

On the second day of competition, Kirsten came back strong, finishing second in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:02.57, which earned All-ECAC honors and scored for Smith.  Amanda finished her senior-year track season on a high note, moving up from ninth to finish seventh in the heptathlon with 4,204 points, a season best.  She had a stellar second day: she threw 35.37m in the javelin, and had a season best in the 800 (2:33.44) and a season best in the long jump (4.71m).  

Meadeshia ran the 400m dash in 1:00.89 (despite having a knee injury all season!) and Maya matched a season best in the high jump with 1.60m. 

ECAC is the largest conference in the U.S., with 312 member schools across all divisions that are located anywhere on the east coast from North Carolina up to Maine.  Despite having only five competitors in the ECAC championship, Smith finished 23rd out of 55 teams in the meet, with 12 points. 

Next up...Kirsten flies to LaCrosse, WI to compete in the 400m hurdles. 

Athletic Banquet Wraps Up the Year

(L-R) Becca, Paige, Lauren, Brianna, Meadeshia, Kirsten, Maya, Kristen, Sonia, Cameah

The 2012-2013 Smith College Athletic Banquet took place at Cutter-Ziskind on April 30, 2013.  It was fun to see everyone in their "business casual" rather than usual workout clothes.

There were a few exciting awards for the Cross Country and Track and Field teams.  The Cross Country team won the Team Academic Award, given to the Smith team with the highest GPA.  Wow.  Well done, distance runners!  Kirsten Silfvenius also won two prestigious awards, both Senior of the Year and Smith's Woman of the Year award.  Both of these awards take into account athletic achievement, academic achievement, community service, and experiences outside of Smith.  Congratulations, Kirsten!

The cross-country team has the highest GPA of any team at Smith.  

Silfvenius Posts New School Record

The Smith Pioneers had another excellent day on the track and on the field last weekend at the Division III New England Championships. Kirsten Silfvenius led the way with a school record breaking performance in the 100-meter Hurdles. Her 14.82 semifinal performance was also a personal record in the event. Kirsten came back to win the 400-meter Hurdles in 1:01.94, which currently ranks third in the country for that event. Maya Rittmanic placed eighth in the high jump with a 1.58m leap and Amanda Zakoske finished sixth in the heptathlon with 3,951 points. Kirsten, Amanda and Maya’s performances earned them All-Div III New England honors. Meadeshia Mitchell ran a 59.99 pr in the 400-meter dash and Paige Sarlandt threw 10.47m in the shot.

Kirsten will lead the Smithies at the Open New England Championships this upcoming weekend. See you there!