&Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.& The quote by Lewis Carroll (from Alice in Wonderland), would be a reasonable quote to follow for most people 8212; but not the women&s track team.
For some of the women, the season never stops. Throughout each season they must remain in top condition in order to be competitive for the present season as well as the next. The running starts with cross-country in the fall, then indoor track and field which keeps the athletes primed for the finale 8212; the outdoor track and field season.
This year&s women&s track team is poised and ready to go. After a long indoor season, the women are ready to take on the competition in a different setting.
Although most of the track as well as the field events stay the same, the women will now have the advantage of breathing fresh air and basking in the warm Rochester sun.
Along with the change of atmosphere, there are also a few changes in the events from the indoor season. In the field events, the discus, hammer throw and javelin will be held in place of the 20-pound weight throw.
As for the sprinting events, the 55-meter dash will be replaced with the 100-meter dash.
Also the absence of the 300-meter dash, 500-meter dash and the 600-meter dash will condense the sprinting events and make it more competitive. The hurdle events will take on the biggest change. The only indoor hurdle event, the 55-meter hurdles, will be replaced with the more demanding 100-meter and 400-meter hurdle event.
Last but not least, the relay runners will endure a few changes in their events.
The indoor relays, 4x 200-meter, 4×800-meter, distance medley relay and the sprint medley relay will simplified and the 4 x 100-meter relay and 4 x 400-meter relay will serve as the relay events for the outdoor season.
With the exception of a few newcomers, the outdoor season will serve to improve upon the personal records set during the indoor season.
One of the newcomers that looks to continue the success of the freshman class is Tanika Murphy.
Murphy looks to excel in the high jump, and hurdle events, as well as the sprinting events. Murphy is coming off her first basketball season as a Yellowjacket where she contributed to the Yellowjacket&s Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship.
There are numerous key returners that look to continue their indoor success outdoors. Sophomore Erin Bank and junior Robin Metcalf look to continue their record-setting indoor seasons for the pole vault. These two engraved their names in the UR history book by vaulting 2.59 meters at the New York State Collegiate Track Championships.
Also continuing her success will be sophomore sprinter and hurdler Lizzy Conway. Conway is coming off an impressive performance at the ECAC championships where she ran a time of 9.45 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles and also helped her 4 x 200-meter relay team to season&s best time.
Controlling the distance events will be freshman Mary Lebrun. Much of the Yellowjacket success in the distance events is due to Lebrun. Besides numerous top-five performances, her best performance may have been at the ECAC championships where she placed second in the 3,000-meter run.
Junior Megan Sullivan and senior Ashley Harvey will team up to control the throwing events. Sophomore Amanda Baran will lead the strong UR jumping crew.
The competition looks to be challenging this year as UR will host four home meets with the first one March 24 at Fauver Stadium where SUNY Geneseo, Alfred University and SUNY Fredonia will make the trip to UR.
Another meet that the women have highlighted on their schedule is the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania April 27.
This is one of the most prestigious track and field meets in the nation. It attracts all of the top teams in Div. I, II and III, as well as numerous professional track athletes.
As the school year is coming to a close, the heat of the track season is just beginning. Most of the athletes have a season or two under their belt and are ready to take the next step. &At this point of the year, I don&t consider anybody a freshman,& said coach Barbara Hartwig. &Their work ethic, as well as the whole team&s, is really coming along nicely.&
