Northampton, MA and Lewisburg, PA – Many Williams Women's Track and Field team members competed at the Carla Coffey Invitational at Smith College, spanning from Friday, April 14 to Saturday, April 15, 2023. The competition featured athletes from Division III schools such as Middlebury College, Amherst College and Tufts University. Also, on Saturday, a selection of Ephs competed at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic. They raced against athletes from some top Division I schools like Bucknell University and Lafayette College and Division III schools like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University. Overall, the Ephs used the sunny weather to their advantage at both meets, giving it their all as always and achieving personal records and DIII New Englands qualifying marks.
To start off the Carla Coffey Invitational, senior captain Hannah Brown and freshman Livi Mazerolle competed in the heptathlon. Both had great performances that qualified them for DIII New Englands. In her first college heptathlon, Brown scored 3156, coming in 9th place overall. Some highlights from her weekend include a personal record of 10.78m in the shot put, which put her in 2nd place, and a 1.47m 4th-place finish jump in the high jump. Mazerolle had a fantastic weekend full of personal records. She obtained a total of 4223 points, coming in 2nd overall. Some highlights include a 1st-place finish in the shot put, where she threw a personal record of 11.17m, a 2nd-place finish in the high jump, where she jumped 1.62m, and a 3rd-place finish in the 200m, where she ran a personal record of 27.54. She also ran a personal best of 2:35.58 in the 800m, crossing the finish line in 4th.
Next up were the jumps. In the pole vault, sophomore Poppy Miller and freshman Ellie Fitzgerald tied for 2nd, jumping 3.40m. Their performances qualified both of them for DIII New Englands. Sophomore Jae Yu also competed in this event and came in 8th, clearing 3.10m. Senior captain Kristen Chou competed in the long jump and placed 3rd, jumping a DIII New Englands qualifying distance of 5.44m. The only Eph to compete in the high jump was freshman Amelie Jamanka. She earned 2nd place with a jump of 1.55m.
There were also many great performances in the sprints. In the 100m, senior captain Kiara Tan ran a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 12.14, placing 2nd. Senior Scarlet Rusch and freshman Ella Sukup raced in the 200m dash, coming in 2nd and 6th, respectively. Rusch ran a personal record and a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 25.71, and Sukup ran a speedy 26.60. Rusch also competed in the 400m, where she ran an outstanding college best and DIII New Englands qualifying time of 57.81, placing 2nd. In the 400m hurdles, junior Camryn Taylor finished in 2nd, running an impressive personal record and DIII New Englands qualifying time of 1:02.04. Last but not least, the 4x100m relay team of Tan, sophomore Rachel Arthur, Taylor, and sophomore Malia Klein achieved a season's best time of 48.01, placing 2nd.
Many Ephs competed in the middle distance and distance events throughout the day. In the 800m, sophomore Elsa Martin and freshman Greta Vaughn both achieved personal records and DIII New Englands qualifying times. Martin ran 2:20.39, placing 6th, and Vaughn closely followed in 7th, running 2:20.93. In the 1500m, sophomore Blakeley Buckingham ran 4:39.33, coming in 2nd. Sophomore Nora Johnson ran 4:43.65, placing 5th and senior Sammie Seamon ran 4:44.96, coming in 6th. All three achieved personal records and DIII New Englands qualifying times. Lastly, in the 5000m, senior Maddy Lawler came in 6th and achieved a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 18:26.37. Freshman Eliana Zitrin ran a college record of 19:10.72, coming in 14th.
Turning to the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic, Ephs competed in the 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m. In the 1500m, senior captain Abby Scott ran 4:39.00, coming in 50th and qualifying for DIII New Englands. Lilly Wells, also a senior captain, ran a personal record and DIII New Englands qualifying time of 4:40.70, placing 55th. Junior Lucy Gagnon placed 82nd, running 4:50.00. Sophomore Ella Ball and Molly Fitzgibbons both qualified for DIII New Englands in the 5000m. Ball came in 22nd, running 17:15.36, and Fitzgibbons in 34th, running 17:29.51. In the 10000m, freshman Fiona Picone placed 21st, running a personal record and DIII New Englands qualifying time of 36:45.76.
The Ephs faced sweltering temperatures and high-level competition this weekend and certainly rose to the challenge. Next weekend, they will compete on home turf at the Farley Invitational – where they will also have their Senior Day. They are excited to continue competing and striving for top-notch marks as they gear toward the rapidly approaching championship season
