Historic Meet as Women’s Track and Field Places Third at the New England Championships
Published: Friday, March 1, 2013
Updated: Friday, March 1, 2013 14:03
After competing in the Patriot League Championships a few weeks ago, Britt Gorski, ’13 said that, “our league is extremely competitive.” The captain was spot on. Holy Cross placed fifth at the conference championships at West Point two weeks ago. However, in the New England Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Boston University February 22 and 23, Holy Cross placed third overall, which represents their highest scoring ever at this meet. Amazing individual and relay performances led the Crusaders to an outstanding third place finish out of 34 teams with a total of 51.33 points.
Strong individual performances led the Crusaders to this huge overall team accomplishment. Stephanie Okpoebo, ‘14 tied her school record in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.60 seconds, placing third. Okpoebo also placed second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.59 seconds. In the long sprints, Oona Wood, ‘16 placed seventh in the 500 meter run, with a time of 1:16.06. In the qualifying rounds, Wood set a personal best time of 1:15.54. In the field events, after breaking the school record last week in the pole vault, Mackenzie Arndt, ‘15 performed well again, placing second overall with a height of 3.7 meters.
Numerous season best performances took place over the weekend for the Crusaders. Britt Gorki became the New England 800 meter champion with her career best time of 2:10.65. Other strong middle distance performances took place in the 1000 meter run. Caroline Carley ’16 ran a season best time of 2:55.22, good enough for third place in her debut at the New England Championships. Teammate Kathleen Brekka, ‘13 also ran well, placing fifth in 2:58.89. “Everyone put themselves out there- from competitors to supporters,” said Brekka. “We were able to carry
the energy we brought and received at Army to BU.” In the pentathlon, Sarah Dahlstrom, ‘15 scored 3,143 points, a season best, which wasgood enough for eighth place. As Sarah lined up to run the 800 meter run, one of the events
in the pentathlon, teammates cheered her on. “No matter how hard we’ve trained or how ready we are for our events,” says Dahlstrom, “there’s something about the little push you get from such loud and excited teammates. I’m so proud of everyone for working so hard all season and giving it all they had at this meet.”
In the distance events, Emily Hughes, ‘14 ran a personal best time of 10:09.6 in the 3000 meter run, improving her previous personal best time by over eight seconds. Sandra van den Heuvel, ’14 finished the 5000 meter run with a time of 18:09.22, a season best for her. “For some of us, it was our last meet-and it was good to see the season end on such a high note,” said van den Heuval. “Especially considering our finish at New England’s, this season has been truly historical for HC track and field.”
In the relay events, Holy Cross performed strong in both the 4x400 meter relay and the 4x800 meter relay, with season best times in both events. Payton Shubrick ’15, Fiorella Johnson, ‘15, Oona Wood, ‘16 and Victoria Engvold, ‘16 took part in the 4x400 meter relay, running an impressive 3:57.96. “I’m really happy how the team did overall,” Shubrick said. “It was a huge accomplishment and one of the strongest indoor seasons we’ve had.” Gorski, Brekka, Carley and Sarah Meinelt, ‘13 placed second in the 4x800 meter relay, with a season best time of 9:04.82.
The handful of Crusaders that qualified for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships will compete in the three day meet March 1 through March 3. “For the girls still running,” van den Heuval said, “I hope the competition at ECAC’s is prepared.”
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