Three of Wesleyan’s track athletes, all women, qualified for the New England Open Championships in Boston this past weekend. Alexis Walker ’16, Sierra Livious ’14, and Lia Monti ’13 went up against the stiffest competition they had faced all season. As would be expected given the character of this trio, this fact did not faze them as they responded with three gutsy performances. Special credit must go to Monti, who broke the Wesleyan 400-meter record with a time of 57.91.

Plaudits for Monti’s performance came from all corners after the news was announced via her Facebook: “New wesleyan 400 record= 57.91. #westrack.” 160 likes later, deserved praise continues to abound from athletes and non-athletes alike.

“Lia in particular had an awesome day,” Walker said. “Her hard work this season shows that it will pay off if you keep after it.”

“I’m also extremely proud of Lia for her huge personal record,” lauded Livious. “She trains hard, works even harder, and deserves every ounce of progress that comes with it.”

The truth of the matter is that this record has been three years in the making and is truly a testament to what an athlete can achieve with sustained focus and discipline.

It would be easy to continue to wax lyrical about Monti’s achievements, yet the ethos of Wesleyan athletics relies on the displays of athletes who may not have grabbed the same headlines on the day but still did the program proud.

Walker placed 15th in the long jump, an outstanding position given the standard of competing athletes. To put things in perspective, Monti’s Wes-record-breaking time gave her a 16th-place finish in the 400-meter. Livious unfortunately had to withdraw from the pentathlon after she was struck by injury.

“Unfortunately my hamstring injury came back with a vengeance, so I wasn’t able to finish my competition,” Livious said. “But before that, I was competing at the level and on pace with everything, so it’s not the end of the world.”

Next up for Wesleyan track and field is the ECAC Division III meet at the Armory in New York City on Mar. 1-2. Both the men’s and women’s sides have athletes due to compete, with the women boasting a very impressive 14 qualifiers.