The conditions were far from ideal on a blustery Saturday at Tufts, but the Wesleyan track and field team put aside all distractions and ended the day with eight runners placing in six different events. Stephanie O’Brien ’08 was Wesleyan’s top performer, coming in first out of 28 in the 400m. The men’s team seemed to set the bar for the day in the long races, placing two runners each in the 5K and 10K, while Dan McLaughlin ’07 placed in the 110m hurdles.
O’Brien broke out ahead of the field quickly and finished with a time of 1:01.24, a second off of what she has been running recently but good enough to come in first.
“It’s always a trade off, place versus time,” O’Brien said, “The cold weather was definitely tough, so I felt like it was a fine time due to the circumstances.”
Kristy Williams, the senior shot putter, came in third in the event with a throw of 36’11 1/2“, four feet short of the school record she set this past indoor season.
In the 5K, the strength of the women’s team showed again as Erin Smith ’06 placed third in a field of 19 with a time of 18:09.
The men’s team placed in the 5K as well, as Jon King ’07 (15:14) came in second and Sean Watson ’08 (15:33) sixth, setting a huge new personal best time. Watson was a contributor to the cross-country team’s quest to NCAAs in the fall, but has always been hindered by allergies in the past.
”I had been feeling so good all week,“ Watson said. ”I’ve been getting allergy shots a few days a week and am breathing so well these days.“
Alex Battaglino ’07 and Anda Greeney ’07 both placed in the 10K, coming in fifth and eighth, respectively. Battaglino’s time was just four seconds off the provisional qualifying time for NCAA’s, as he ran a superb 31:13.80. Battaglino negatively split the race, running 15:40 for his first 5k and coming back with a 15:33 in the second leg.
”It was a great day all around,“ Battaglino said. ”I think the rest of the conference is starting to realize how deep we will be next year in cross-country.“
McLaughlin was clocked at 16.5 seconds in the finals of the 110m hurdles, taking half a second off of his trials time and coming in fourth.
The track and field team will race at home the next two weekends, in the Elmer Swanson Invite and the Little Three Championships.
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