BOSTON, Mass. - The Williams College women's indoor track and field team opened the winter season competing at a pair of Boston-area events, the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener hosted by Boston University, and the New Balance Opener at The Track at New Balance.
Annika Paluska created a highlight for the Ephs early in the day at BU, winning her heat with a 1:32.83 in the 600m, which is the third best D3 time ever, and beating her own school record in the event. The time was good enough for 4th place in a strong field in which Paluska was the top D3 finisher.
Other strong performances at BU included a third-place finish from Claire Jensen in the 400m, winning her heat in 58.90, and Ella Sukup winning her 200m heat with a 25.84, good for 6th place overall.
In a deep and competitive 5k field, the three Ephs running were put in the ninth heat, competing against mostly Division 1 runners as well as a few top D3 competitors. Kate Tuttle led the way, winning the heat with a time of 16:50.78, followed by Kate Swann in fourth in the heat at 16:59.38, and then Charlene Peng in 7th in the heat at 17:07.55. All three earned 5k personal bests.
Across town at the New Balance track, the Ephs had more competitors in a wider range of events. In the 60m hurdles, three made the final, with Livi Mazerolle finishing 2nd in 9.45, Jenni Flynn earning 3rd in 9.50, and Olivia LaBelle getting 5th at 9.52. In the 60m dash, first-years Hannah Thomas and Ziann Facey ran 8.70 and 8.71 in a fast field.
Mazerolle won the 800m with a 2:22.93, and in the mile, Clara Gahm won with a 5:03.34, followed closely by Lily Yampolsky in 3rd with a 5:06.60. In the 3k, Alice Culver's 10:38.39 was good for 6th and the first of the D3 finishers, trailed by teammates Linnea Cox at 10:47.51 in 11th, and Ella Kirkwood at 10:52.12 in 12th. Julia Brennan ran a PR of 17:36 in the 5k, earning 3rd as the first D3 finisher.
Maria Fareti shone in the throws, finishing 2nd in the shot with a mark of 11.86, and winning the weight throw at 15.94m. The mark in the weight throw ties a personal best from last winter.
In the jumps, first-year Eliza Ayres won the long jump with a 5.52m ahead of teammate Mireya King at 5.21m, and Rafaela Delgado Carpio-Rivero earned 2nd in the triple jump with a mark fo 10.72m. Ellie Fitzgerald and Audrey Cheng were the top two finishers in the pole vault, both at 3.50m.
