New London, CT – The Williams Women's Track and Field team competed at the NESCAC Outdoor Championships at Connecticut College this Saturday, April 29, 2023. The Ephs competed against athletes from schools across the NESCAC, such as Amherst College, Tufts University, and Middlebury College. They gave it their all through chilly weather, rain, and hefty winds to secure a third-place finish. Despite the less than ideal conditions, many Ephs won their events and achieved DIII New Englands qualifying marks.
Starting with the distance and middle distance events, Molly Fitzgibbons '24 represented the Ephs in the 3000m steeplechase. Fitzgibbons took first in the event, running an impressive 10:43.56 to qualify for DIII New Englands. She also competed in the 5000m with her teammate Ella Ball '25. Ball ran a seasonal best of 17:02.52 to win the event, and Fitzgibbons ran 17:30.14 for fourth place. Both Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands with these performances. In the 10000m, Fiona Picone '26 ran an outstanding time of 37:10.79 to place 1st overall. She was followed by Kate Swann '26 and Eliana Zitrin '26, who, in their first time competing in the event, placed 9th and 14th. Swann ran 38:48.00 and Zitrin ran 40:14.01. All three Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands with these marks. Lucy Gagnon '24 placed 3rd in the 800m, running a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 2:17.29. Blakeley Buckingham '25 and Maddy Lawler '24 raced in the 1500m and both achieved DIII New Englands qualifying times. Buckingham placed 5th with a time of 4:41.82, and Lawler came in 7th with a time of 4:44.96.
The Ephs continued their success in the sprints events. In the 100m dash, captain Kiara Tan '23 placed 3rd in the prelims with a time of 12.56, winning her heat to automatically qualify for finals. Later in the day, Tan won the 100m finals with a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 12.29. Tan also competed in the 200m, coming 2nd with a DIII New Englands qualifying time of 25.04. Scarlet Rusch '23.5 also competed in the 200m, placing 5th with a time of 25.91. In the 400m, she placed 4th with an impressive time of 58.60. Rusch qualified for DIII New Englands in both the 400m and the 200m. After a long recovery from injury, captain Caroline Douglas '23 had an incredible day of 100m hurdles performances. In the prelims, Douglas ran a personal best and DIII New Englands qualifying time of 16.07 for 8th place. Then, in the finals, she placed 6th with a time of 16.12. Camryn Taylor '24 represented the Ephs in the 400m hurdles. Taylor came in 3rd with a time of 1:04.01, qualifying her for DIII New Englands.
The Ephs competed in three relays throughout the day of competition. First, the women's 4x100m relay team of Kiara Tan '23, Rachel Arthur '25, Camryn Taylor '23, and Scarlet Rusch '23.5 placed 3rd overall with a time of 48.57. Later on, the 4x400m team of Ella Sukup '26, Camryn Taylor '23, Scarlet Rusch '23.5, and Lucy Gagnon '24 placed 7th with a time of 4:04.40. Finally, in the last event of the day, the 4x800m team of Greta Vaughn '26, Elsa Martin '25, Blakeley Buckingham '25, and Nora Johnson '25 placed 5th with a time of 9:45.81. These Eph relay teams look forward to competing together again at DIII New Englands.
The jumpers, throwers, and vaulters had solid performances across the weekend, too. On Friday, Ellie Fitzgerald '26 took 3rd in the pole vault with an outdoor collegiate best of 3.55m. Jae Yu '25 placed 6th in the event with a mark of 3.40m. Both Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands in the pole vault. Amelie Jamanka '25 competed in the high jump on Friday evening, finishing 5th with a DIII new Englands qualifying mark of 1.57m. Then, on Saturday, Emma Miller '26 dominated the throws competitions. In the discuss, Miller hit a new personal best of 31.77m to secure 10th place. She then went on to become the NESCAC shot put champion with a personal best of 12.14m. Miller achieved the DIII qualifying standards in both of her events. The Ephs had outstanding long jump performances, too. Morgan Nasir '25 won the event overall with a mark of 5.57m, followed by captain Kristen Chou '23 with a mark of 5.45m. Both Ephs qualified for DIIIs in the long jump.
The Ephs displayed their athletic talent and outstanding team spirit at the 2023 Outdoor NESCAC Championships. They look forward to competing at the Division III New England Championship next weekend in Springfield, MA. The meet will stretch across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and will feature exciting competition for the Williams athletes.
