Sports

Women's track excels at Keogh, Princeton

In print | February 28, 2008

With just one week left until the Centennial Conference Championships at Ursinus College, the Swarthmore indoor track and field women showed why they have a reputation for being graceful and gritty.

The Garnet swept in numerous season-best and Conference qualifying performances, taking both the Greater Philadelphia Area and the state of New Jersey by storm.

The action started fast and furious at the Haverford College Keogh Invitational, as Nyika Corbett ’10 and Bess Ritter ’09 competed in the mile run.

Corbett started in the back of the pack and worked her way up fluidly through the field, posting a season-best time of 5:19.36 in the process. This time also landed Corbett on the Swarthmore top ten list again. Corbett also happens to be Swarthmore’s women’s indoor mile record holder.

Ritter also recorded a strong performance, dropping down in distance to place second in her heat in 5:31.49, well faster than the Conference qualifying standard of 5:59.56.

The rest of the Garnet women were just as impressive. Lauren Deluca ’10 ran a strong race in the 800 meters, stopping the clock at 2:30.91, well inside the Conference standard of 2:38.83.

Emma Stanley ’09 and Faith Pampel ’09 each had stellar outings in the 3000 meters, running together for most of the race to record Conference qualifying times of 11:23.21 and 11:28.31, respectively.

Field athletes Heather Hightower ’09 and Nathalie Degaiffier ’10 both closed out their regular-season rookie campaigns with strong performances as well.

Degaiffier sped down the track in the 200 meters and ran a leg of the 4×400 meter relay in addition to long jumping 3.98 meters, a mark that tied her personal best.

Hightower was also in top form, launching the shot put 8.34 meters, a personal record and Conference qualifying performance. When asked about her Conference mark, Hightower replied, “It’s my first season, so I was kind of surprised about making Conferences. I talked to Coach Carroll, Coach Noon and Coach Tom and they told me that it was my first season and so to focus on improvement. But I told them ’I’m gonna do it’ and I did.”

Hightower’s performance didn’t surprise throws coach Tom ‘Gladiator’ Reynolds, however. Of Hightower’s mark, he said, “I’m unbelievably excited. I don’t think Heather has even tapped the beginning of her potential. This is just a sign of things to come.”

While the rest of the Garnet women’s team was cruising through the competition at Haverford, Cait Mullarkey ’09 had her sights set on some stiff competition at the Princeton Invitational. Mullarkey competed in the 800 meters, placing seventh among some tough Division I and III competitors.

Mullarkey recorded an indoor best time of 2:19.58. The race also served as an indicator of what the Centennial Conference Championships will be like, as Mullarkey’s two closest competitors were in the race — and for those short of memory, it was Mullarkey leading the charge down the homestretch last year and to a gold medal.

If this week’s performances are an indication of the future, the Garnet women should be optimistic for Conferences. According to Andrew VanBuren ‘10, a member of the men’s team, “The ladies looked sharp on Saturday, but then again, they always look sharp … I’m excited to see what they can do at Conferences.”

The Garnet women will close out the indoor season at the Centennial Conference Championships, beginning at noon on Satuday at Ursinus College, March 1, and continuing at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 2.

Disclosure Note: Nyika Corbett is a contributor to The Phoenix but had no role in the production of this article.