Women’s Track and Field Sets the Pace at Tufts Sunshine Classic

Amherst women’s track and field competed in the third annual Sunshine Classic at Tufts this Saturday, April 21, in preparation for its upcoming postseason. Competing against a deep Tufts roster, along with several other non-conference opponents, the women racked up 62 points to earn a fourth-place finish at the seven-team meet.

The Mammoth first years impressed on the track, with Sarah Tam ’21 starting the day off with a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash in a time of 13.41. Classmates Sarah Gayer and Lauren Lamb also earned podium finishes, with Gayer finishing second in the 800-meter race and Lamb taking third overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.38. Lizzie Kobelski ’20 finished behind Lamb in the hurdles with a time of 18.73 seconds for a sixth-place mark.

In the final Amherst race of the meet, sophomore Kristin Ratcliffe ’20 clocked a time of 5:01.04 to place sixth in the 1,500 meters, while Olivia Polischeck ‘21 took 10th with a time of 5:10.05.

Becki Golia ’18 headlined the field events for the Mammoths, taking the gold in the women’s high jump with a 1.52-meter mark. Amherst took third through sixth in the long-jump event, with Ella Rossa ’21 leading the Mammoths with a distance of 4.81 meters for her third-place finish. Behind Rossa were fellow first-years Tam, Dana Frishman and Kasia Krosniak with jumps of 4.71, 4.67, and 4.62, respectively.

Rounding out the day, sophomores Annabelle Gary and Caroline Ferguson-Dryden finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the javelin with throws of 28.38 and 24.74 meters. Ferguson-Dryden also notched a ninth place finish in the discus throw with a 26.11-meter mark.

The Mammoths will begin their postseason schedule on Saturday, April 28 at 9 a.m. when they compete in the 2018 NESCAC Championships hosted by Trinity.