Tufts Hosts Track & Field Championships This Weekend

Competition Gets Underway at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday

Schedule of Events Qualifying Standards

HADLEY, Mass. – The 2010 NESCAC Track & Field Championships take place this Saturday at the Dussault Track & Field complex on the campus of Tufts University. Williams College has won nine straight women’s titles, and a 10th consecutive conference crown this weekend would be the 18th in program history for the Ephs. The Williams men’s team has been equally as impressive over the past decade, winning eight of the last nine NESCAC meets outright and 16 of the past 18 titles overall.

Williams won the 2009 women’s title with 180 points, as the Ephs  took the meet by 24 points over Middlebury. The Panthers (156) finished as the runner-up to the Ephs for the second time in three years, edging out the Jumbos by nine points (145) for second place. Middlebury and Tufts have been consistent top-three finishers behind Williams since the 2004 championship. A big part of the Ephs’ continued NESCAC championship success was their representation among the top finishers in multiple races. In the short distance events, senior Elise Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio) placed second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes - finishing one one-hundredth of a second behind Tufts senior Logan Crane (Portland, Maine) in the 100. It was the second year in a row that Crane had bested Johnson for the 100 title. Sophomore Hillary Higgs (Springfield, Mass.) was also impressive for the Ephs, finishing eighth in the 100, first in the 200, and fourth in the 400. Other returners to watch for include sophomores Elsa Millett (Manchester, Conn.) of Bowdoin and Kelsey Ham (Bozeman, Mont.) of Williams. Millett won the 400-meter dash and was third in the 200 in her first championship appearance, while Ham placed right behind Millett in the 400.

The Middlebury tandem of junior Kaitlyn Saldanha (Scarborough, Maine) and sophomore Rebecca Fanning (Ipswich, Mass.) placed one-two in the 800-meter run last year, as Saldanha’s time of 2:12.12 was a NESCAC championship record. Looking to challenge for not only the 800-meter title but also the 1,500-meter crown will be the Williams duo of senior Olga Kondratjeva (Vilnius, Lithuania) and junior Elizabeth Danhakl (Pacific Palisades, Calif.). Kondratjeva has been a top-four finisher in the 1,500 at each of the last three conference meets with her best performance coming in 2008 (2nd), while Danhakl was third in the 800 and fourth in the 1,500 in 2009. The two Ephs will have to contend with Tufts junior Amy Wilfert (Westborough, Mass.) the top returner from last year’s 1,500 (2nd). The long distance runs will have plenty of competition for individual honors, as the top five finishers from the 5,000-meter run will not return this year. Contenders in the long-distance events could include seniors Sophia Galleher (Denver, Colo.) of Amherst, Katrina Gravel (Peabody, Mass.) of Colby, and Ravenna Neville (Westfield, N.J.) of Wesleyan. Neville is the defending champion in the 10,000-meter run.

Johnson of Williams could perform a three-peat in the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday, as she has won the event at the last two NESCAC meets. The Panthers may have the best core of hurdlers heading into the weekend. Senior Laura Dalton (Simsbury, Conn.) and juniors Alice Wisener (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Katy Magill (Boxford, Mass.) all finished in the top five in the 400-meter event, while sophomore Mia Martinez (Ridgewood, N.J.) was third in the 100. Middlebury also benefitted from its relay team performances for its second place showing at last year’s championship. The Panthers took the 4x400 and the 4x800 races and were third in the 4x100.

Bates senior Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan (Topsham, Mass.) will look to cap her NESCAC career with strong performances in the shot put, hammer and discus throws this weekend. The top returner in the shot and discus, Duncan has won the shot put at each of the last two league meets and was also third in the discus last year. Crane of Tufts could also have the opportunity to earn her third consecutive title in the long jump this weekend in addition to the 100-meter dash. She has claimed the long jump in each of the last two years after finishing fourth as a rookie in 2007.

On the men’s side, Williams has won the NESCAC title outright at each of the last two meets after tying Tufts in the 2007 - the only time in the 24-year history of the event that the crown has been shared. Unlike in recent years, the finish between the top four teams was the closest it has been since 2002, as less than 50 points separated first place Williams and fourth place Bowdoin. Following the Ephs (154.5) were the Bobcats of Bates, just one half of a point ahead of Tufts (116). There will be plenty of competition in the sprint races on Saturday with valuable points to be gained. Williams junior Taylor Fitzgerald (Dedham, Mass.) won the 400 and placed second in the 200 at last April’s meet. Bates junior Ryan Quinn (Watertown, Mass.) came in fourth in both the 200 and 400, and Middlebury senior Micah Wood (Tacoma, Wash.) placed just behind Fitzgerald in the 400.

The mid and long distance races could hold some surprises. The top two runners at last year’s meet in the 800 and 1,500 will not return, leaving the door wide open. Senior Jesse Faller (Burlington, Mass.) of Tufts may have the best chance to claim his first individual title after finishing third in the 1,500-meter run in 2009, while junior Brendan Powers (Middletown, Mass.) of Trinity posted a similar showing in the 800. Bowdoin senior Thompson Ogilvie (Hopedale, Mass.) edged out Amherst’s Daniel Murner (Crestwood, Ky.) in the 5,000-meter run, and sophomore Michael Schmidt (Wilmette, Ill.) of Middlebury was a first time winner in the 10,000-meter event.

Bates once again looks strong in the throwing events with the tandem of senior Rich McNeil (Lawrence, Mass.) and junior Christopher Murtagh (Rowley, Mass.). McNeill added a second-straight discus title last year and was also the winner in the hammer throw along with a third place showing in the shot put. Murtagh won his second consecutive javelin crown in 2009 and earned points in the discus and the hammer. Connecticut College senior Alex Samma (Ougadougou, Burkina Faso) will look to follow up his best finish in the triple jump (2nd) this year.

Tufts hopes to retain the 110-meter hurdles title for the fourth year in a row after senior Jared Engelking (Westborough, Mass.) won the event last year. The Jumbos might add the 400-meter hurdles crown to their haul if senior Trevor Donadt (Northborough, Mass.) records a time similar to his championship-winning performance in 2008.

The championship format, previously a two-day event, was changed to a one-day competition in 2003. Results will be available at the conclusion of the event online at www.nescac.com.