Outdoor track season is under way at last!

The transition to competing and practicing outside was welcomed warmly after months inside, but the outside did not welcome us warmly.  Snow fell during spring break, re-covering the track that had finally just melted.  During the past two weeks of practice, we have had two days with snow flurries.  But we can handle all kinds of weather at practice if we continue to have track meet days as gloriously perfect as last Saturday's meet at Mount Holyoke.  The sun shone brightly, and the air was crisp and clear.  It was warm enough to be comfortable when running, but not so warm that you wanted to take off your jacket when cheering.  (Of course, there were occasional big gusts of wind, but that's a different story.  Suffice it to say that our relationship with the team tent has been forever changed.)

It was a perfect day for an outdoor track meet!  Good bye to cramped indoor tracks where you have to navigate jumpers, throwers, runners warming up, and sprinters finishing to get to the water fountain.  Hello Outdoor Track, where getting from the javelin to the long jump takes enough time that you might need to reapply sunscreen.

There were several notable performances from the meet.  Maya broke the facility record in the high jump with a jump of 1.60m, which qualified her for ECACs and Div III NE Championships.  The 4x100 relay team of Sonia, Amanda, Kirsten, and Maya came in first, and the 4x400 team of distance runners (Katie F, Danielle, Micaela, and Katie D) came in fourth place!  Both Cynthia and Lotte PRed in the 5k (20:09 and 20:12 respectively), and Kirsten qualified for post-season competition in both the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles.

Also of note:
The Award for Field Athlete of the Meet went to Paige Sarlandt, who PRed in the shot put (10.54m) and competed in the discus for the first time, after just a week of practice.  Each of her attempts was a meter longer than the previous, finishing at 25.05m.
The Award for Track Athlete of the Meet was given to the Distance 4x400, mentioned above.
Finally, the award for Teammate of the Meet went to Abby.  She was unable to compete because of an injury, so she spent the meet cheering on her teammates and helping with warm ups.

We will post pictures soon!  The team competes again this Saturday at AIC in Springfield. 

Smith Captures Two All-ECAC Honors

The Smith College track & fielders competed at the ECAC Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend, capturing two All-ECAC recognitions en route. Meadeshia Mitchell and Kirsten Silfvenius placed third and fourth in the 500-meter event, both earning All-ECAC honors. Kirsten’s mark of 1:17.43 and Meadeshia’s time of 1:17.63 both broke the school record in that event. Maya Rittmanic placed eighth in the high jump, clearing 1.63m comfortably. Katie Ferrall ran in a very bunched and tactical 1,000-meter race and clocked 3:07.63. Smith teams also competed in the 4x200-meter and 4x800-meter relays. The 4x200-meter team of Sonia Brown, Maya, Meadeshia and Kirsten ran 1:48.42, their best time of the season. The 4x800-meter team of Katie, Meadeshia, Micaela Young and Abby Mosca ran 9:54.12, breaking the 10-minute barrier and also bettering their previous season PR. 

Way to close off the indoor season! Smith will begin the outdoor season on the 30^th of March at the Mount Holyoke Spring Fling meet. See you all there!