Jays athletes excel at MD Invite

The Hopkins women' s track and field team traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to partake in the Raleigh Relays this past Friday. Sophomore Holly Clarke and freshman Hannah Eckstein represented the Blue Jays in the event. Clarke and Eckstein placed 10th and 14th in the 10,000-meter event. This was against steep competition, matching up against Division I opponents. For the six mile, 376 yd race, Clarke ran a time of 36:10.39 and Eckstein followed closely behind coming in at 36:33.82. In Division III, these scores took the number two and three spots in the nation. Their performance on the national stage this past weekend in North Carolina was truly a remarkable accomplishment for the two Blue Jays. The Blue Jays returned to action the next day in College Park, Maryland to compete in the Maryland Invitational. Many Division I teams were competing in the event, including teams such as Maryland and the Naval Academy. The Blue Jays competed well on the day and many set personal records. Freshman Lindsay Sanborn started the Jays off with a decisive victory in the 5,000 meter race, finishing with a time of 18:32.92. This was Sanborn's best race to date in a Blue Jay uniform as she beat her next closest runner by over 100 meters. Freshman Abby Flock also ran well, finishing fourth in the event. In the 800 meter run, junior Annie Monagle placed third in the event with a time of 2:15.05. This time ranks her first in the Centennial Conference and sixth on the national Division III level. Freshmen Ingrid Johnson and Paige Boehmcke competed in the 1500 meter race and posted their best times to date with runs of 4:55.76 and 4:56.78, respectively. In the javelin throw, Emily Swenson recorded a throw of 38.48 meters, which landed her a second place finish in the event and in the lead in the Centennial Conference. Swenson also performed well in the shot, throwing for a distance of 11.75 meters, tops in the conference. Right behind Swenson was junior teammate Alana Merkow who threw for 11.64 meters. She ranks second in the Centennial Conference. In the pole vault, Kelsey Bower had a score of 10' (3.05) and placed fourth in the meet. The Blue Jay sprinters had a strong performance in College Park. Freshman Kelley Hussey posted a score to ranks her second in the 100 meter (13.14). Sophomore Chloe Ryan and junior Amelia Vallenilla tied for fourth. The Hopkins men's track team was also in action this past week at College Park. The Blue Jays also faced stiff competition from Division I opponents but were able to have many good early season scores. Freshman Ryan Walsh made a statement in his high jump performance (6'2" (1.88)), landing him in first place in the Centennial Conference, but only good enough for sixth place in the event. Sophomore Jon Hickman also found himself in first place in the Centennial Conference but only finished in eighth for the discus event. The Blue Jays also set a conference leading time in the 4 X 400 meter relay at 3:34.39. The distance runners for the Blue Jays all showed their abilities. In the 1500-meter run, Julian Saliani (4:04.24), sophomores Wes Butler (4:04.47), Robert Ferris (4:04.80) and senior Brett Schwartz (4:05.19) all had impressive times. It is clear that the team has the ability to stack up against some of the top Division I programs in the country. Not only did the Blue Jays post scores that were atop of the Centennial Conference, they were able to amass top rankings amongst some Division I opponents. The Blue Jays can carry this conference into their next event in Millersville, Pa to compete in the Millersville Metrics and Combined Events Challenge on Apr. 6th.