Panthers send six to NCAAs in Ohio

This past weekend, the men’s and women’s track teams traveled to New York to compete in their final meet before the indoor NCAA championships– the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships hosted by New York University at the Armory.
The Panther women were the stars of the day, turning in some excellent individual performances to finish eighth out of 45 teams competing.  Several Panthers earned all-ECAC honors, given to the top eight finishers in each event.
The highlight of the day came from the women’s distance medley relay team of Kaitlynn Saldanha ’11, Erin Toner ’11, Margo Cramer ’12 and Juliet Ryan-Davis ’13. The team finish first in the relay, not only earning the status of ECAC champions but also breaking the previous school record in the process with an overall time of 11:47.16.
Significant overlap between the DMR and the 4x400m relay translated into another successful relay finish, with the team of Saldanha, Cramer, Ryan-Davis and Christina Kunycky ’11 earning all-ECAC honors with an eighth place finish, and breaking yet another school record.
The mid- and long distance women also raced well on “the world’s fastest track,” with several runners earning all-ECAC honors for their performances.
Adding to the day’s success, Saldanha increased her all-ECAC count with a fifth place finish in the 800m.  Sarah O’Brien ’13 finished an impressive third in the 1000m race with a time of 2:57.37, while teammate Sophia Spring ’11 also raced to all-ECAC honors in the mile, finishing fifth in the event.  Claire McIlvennie ’12 and Amanda Lee both ECAC recognition for their performances in the 3000m, finishing second and seventh respectively.
The men’s team, while not as numerically successful as the women– finishing in 23rd of 53 teams present– delivered some impressive individual performances, earning all-ECAC honors and breaking a school record in the process.
The men’s distance medley relay of Addison Godine ’11.5, John Davies ’13, Michael Schmidt ’12, and newcomer Peter Hetzler ’14 echoed the success of the women’s DMR, earning all-ECAC honors with a fifth place finish in the event and setting a new school record. Anthony Lee also secured all-ECAC honors for himself with a fifth place finish, clocking in at 8:39.22 in the men’s 3000m.
Overall, the indoor season was a successful one for the Panthers; six athletes will be traveling to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio to compete in the NCAA indoor championship this weekend.  Lee will represent the men in the 5000m, while the ECAC-winning team of Saldanha, Toner, Cramer, and Ryan-Davis will compete in the distance medley relay.  Grace Doering ’13 will also be competing for the women in the high jump.
If the indoor season is any indication of how the track and field teams will fare once (or if) the spring weather emerges, the Panthers should be in good shape heading into the outdoor season.
They will first be able to test their fitness outdoors in two weeks when they travel to San Diego on their annual spring break training trip.