The women’s track team had a successful weekend at the Mount St. Mary's Multi's and at the Widener Invite.
Sophomore Paige Marsh won the heptathlon at the Mt. St. Mary’s Multi Event. She beat her own score from a year ago by 300 points, finishing first for Hopkins. She was able to leap 1.59 meters in the high jump, and led the field in the 100 meter hurdles and javelin throw. She also had solid performances in the shot put, 200 meter dash, long jump, and 800 meter run.
“Winning the Heptathlon was a nice surprise for me as I hit a lot of top marks as well as a couple PRs," Marsh said. "I plan on working on my weaker events as much as possible before the conference meet in early May. As the end of the season approaches, our workouts are now focused on reaching top speeds and fine-tuning our technical abilities in the field events.”
Hopkins also finished strong at the Widener Invitational, held in Chester, Pa. on April 19.
In the 100 meter dash, junior Kelley Hussey won in 12.65 seconds. Senior Emily Swenson came in third at 13.00 seconds, and sophomore Mary Kate Wallace came in fifth with a time of 13.15.
When asked about how the season was going, Wallace commented on the depth and chemistry of the team.
“The best part of this season has been working together as a team to achieve our goals," Wallace said. "We are lucky to have a team so large and with so much depth. Our coaches and captains work closely with each of us and their leadership, along with the motivation from the rest of the team, has led us to break many school records and achieve national ranking performances. Right now we have several athletes ranking in the top 50 in the country in their respective events.”
In the 200 meter dash, sophomore Brynn Parsons finished first overall, while sophomore Emily Nordquist, Hussey and Wallace took in ninth place through 11th place, respectively.
Nordquist spoke about how she prepared for the meet.
“I would say the main thing I do to prepare for meets, especially now that it's warmer, is to drink a lot of water the night before," Nordquist said. "And I always try to go to bed early. Now that the season is winding down we're working more on speed as a team. We already have the endurance; now we need to get faster, which is always fun because you finally get to see the results and purpose of all the long endurance training. The best part of the season is always being with the team. Track is a tough sport but the team really makes it worth it.”
Freshman Veronica Boswell finished with the top time for the Blue Jays this season in the 3000 steeple chase.
“At Widener, we all competed really well," Boswell said. "It was a little nerve racking and fun for me personally because I ran my first 3000-steeplechase ... I honestly couldn't have asked for a better first collegiate season. There are always going to be personal goals you don't hit, but that's the nature of the sport, and it's what makes us want to keep getting better. I’ll be sad to see this season go, but it’s not over until it’s over. Until then, we'll be getting in our last hard workouts, gearing up for conferences, and we’ll definitely be sending several of our athletes on to the outdoor national championships.”
In the javelin throw, Swenson won with a throw of 39.30 meters, while junior Stephanie Cabral came in second with a toss of 38.14 meters.
“It's been really fun working with my teammates John Stanton and Emily Swenson," Cabral said. "[Assistant Coach Jay Dunn] and them have been nothing but helpful. With conferences coming up in less than two weeks, it's good to see things finally start to come together.”
You can catch the Blue Jays when they return to action at the Centennial Conference Championships in the first week of May.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.