NEW LONDON, CT (April 29, 2023) -- The Tufts University women's track and field squad put forth a very strong day at the 2023 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championships Saturday afternoon on a rainy day in Connecticut, finishing as the runner-up with 147 points at the Silfen Track and Field Complex on the campus of Connecticut College.
The Jumbos started the day with the lead thanks to wins in the high jump and pole vault on Friday evening by
Jaidyn Appel and
Kelsie Hao, respectively, and tried hard to fight off Middlebury and Williams College. The first event of the day was in the women's 10000 meter run, and junior
Meghan Davis had a very strong race as she took home third place, All-NESCAC honors and six points with a time of 37:25.54.
Eliana Montgomery also put together a great race, posting a new personal record of 37:25.54.
The 3000 meter steeplechase followed the prelims for the 100 meter dash and 100 meter hurdles, and Tufts picked up three more points as
Jaclyn Turner ran a new personal-best time of 11:43.12 to earn sixth place.
Lexi Dean just missed the podium, as she earned ninth place with a time of 11:53.43.
The 4x100 meter relay was next and the quartet of Madelyn Silveira,
Sarah Pillone,
Nyla Thompson and Hao raced to a sixth-place finish with a time of 50.42. In the 1500 meter run,
Hannah Neilon posted the first of her two wins on the afternoon as she chalked up 10 points for the Jumbos with a winning time of 4:37.62. Pillone returned to the track for the 100 meter hurdle finals and earned NESCAC runner-up honors and All-NESCAC accolades with a time of 15.31.
The 400 meters was next up for the Jumbos and
Annika Kral ran a strong time of 59.34 to finish eight overall and pick up one point in the standings for Tufts. The 800 meter run was a strong event for Tufts, as Neilon tallied her second victory with a time of 2:16.21 for 10 more points.
Carly Rinko placed fifth after crossing the finish line in 2:17.73 for four points.
In the 400 meter hurdles, Tufts put three runners in the top eight, led by sophomore
Emma Smith and her time of 1:05.90 which was good for fifth place.
Antonia Knoth was just behind her in seventh place with a 1:07.01, and
Campbell Devlin took eighth after racing to a time of 1:07.12. In all, Tufts picked up seven total points in the 400 meter hurdles.
First-year
Grace Ogden ran a personal-best time in the 5000 meter run of 18:16.21 for 15th place, and the 4x400 meter relay of Devlin, Kral, Knoth and Smith earned fifth place and four points with a time of 4:03.21.
Amelia Neiman,
Emma Sasonov,
Julia Dolce and Rinko also were third in the 4x800 relay after crossing the finish line in 9:40.46.
In the field events, Tufts had a very strong afternoon, led by
Lia Rotti in a number of events. Rotti earned fourth place in the long jump with a mark of 5.43 meters, recording the final distance on her last of six jumps. Rotti was also the NESCAC champion in the triple jump, her second straight NESCAC title in the event as she posted a final mark of 11.79 meters, again on her final attempt. Rotti wasn't done as well, as she was second in the javelin throw with a mark of 35.55 meters. In all, Rotti racked up 23 points for the Jumbos.
Jordan Andrew was solid as well Saturday, as she was fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.42 meters to pick up four points. Hao added a leap of 5.28 meters in the long jump to take seventh place. Andrew was back on the runway for the triple jump, earned fourth place and five points with a final mark of 11.30 meters, coming on her third jump of six on the day.
Appel competed in the triple jump after her win on Friday in the high jump and was fifth with a final recorded mark of 11.15 meters, and
Jen Rotti took sixth as well with a distance of 11.14 meters. The Jumbos tallied 22 points in the triple jump, their best event of the competition.
In the throwing events,
Ravyn Tammiruusu earned sixth place in the discus after recording a mark of 33.55 meters on her sixth and final throw of the day. Elizabeth Graham was also fifth in the hammer throw with a new personal-best distance of 42.99 meters.
The Jumbos finished the meet with 147 points, only seven behind Middlebury for the title. Williams was third with 133.5 points, while Amherst College and Wesleyan University rounded out the top five with 110 and 67 points, respectively. The runner-up finish for Tufts was second straight second-place finish, and it marked the 19th top-two finish in the NESCAC Championships in the meet's history for the Jumbos.
Tufts will head to the Division III New England Championships at Springfield College next Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6.
--JUMBOS--
