Women’s track and field clinches second straight New England Division III title
The MIT women’s track and field team, ranked No. 2 in the latest United States Track and Field and Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, claimed their second consecutive New England Division III Indoor Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Virtue Field House on the campus of Middlebury College. This Championship marked the first time in program history that the Engineers claimed back-to-back titles.
One of 30 teams in attendance, MIT totaled 123.50 points for the win and ranked ahead of Williams College in second (93.83 points), host Middlebury in third (82), and the University of Southern Maine and Tufts University tied in fourth (52).
Cimran Virdi ’16, Nicole Zeinstra ’16, Jackie Vahey ’17, and Maryann Gong ’17 earned individual victories in their respective events.
Virdi won the pole vault with a best leap of 12 feet, 5.50 inches (3.80m), Vahey claimed the weight throw with a distance of 54 feet, 8.25 inches (16.67m), Gong took the one-mile run in 4:56.15, and Zeinstra crossed the finish line first in the 3000-meter race in 10:08.10, a personal best.
Nneoma Okonkwo ’18 broke the MIT program record in the 60-meter dash in 7.85 seconds and tied the school record in the long jump with a longest leap of 17 feet, 8.75 inches (5.40m).
Zeinstra teamed up with Megan Montgomery ’19, Kendra Knittel ’18, and Clementine Mitchell ’17 for second place in the distance medley relay (DMR) with a time of 12:14.85.
Gong went on to place second in the 1000-meter race with a time of 2:57.12 — a new personal record. Hannah Chen ’17 placed fifth in the 400-meter dash (59.51), fifth in the 200-meter dash (25.99), sixth in the long jump (17 feet, 5.50 inches — a personal best at 5.32m), and seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (9.38).
Bailey Tregoning ’19 crossed the line second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.18.
The Engineers took three of the top six places in the shot put as Isabella Stuopis ’16 led the way in third with a best throw of 42 feet, 2.25 inches (12.86m), while Jackie Vahey was fourth with 39 feet, 10 inches (12.14m), and Slutsky was sixth (39 feet, 8.50 inches — a new personal record at 12.10m).
Rounding out events in the Indoor Championship, Sherry Wan ’16 and Jennifer Tylock ’17 tied for fifth place in the pole vault with a height of 10 feet, 11.75 inches (3.35m).
MIT returns to action next weekend as those who qualified for the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Indoor Championships will travel to Boston University on Friday, February 26 and Saturday, February 27 for a chance to make it to the NCAA Division III Championships later in March.