Women Rock the NCAA Division III National Rankings
January 27-28, 2017
While MIT's Women's Track & Field team sent a select few over to the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic, those individuals threw down some impressive performances that fired a warning shot to the rest of Division III. Although six weeks remains until Nationals and everyone's best performances are still to come, this weekend's performances are an excellent starting point.
Bailey Tregoning '19 established the leading time in the 800 for NCAA Division III by running 2:12.08. There was obviously more in the tank as it was clear she was thinking she took the lead too soon after a 1:36 600 split. Running sub 2:10 is certainly a possibility this season. Also in that event, but a different section was Marissa McPhillips '20. The freshman ran a superb race, clocking 2:15.31 as she nearly even split the quarters.
Although not an NCAA Division III Championship event, Katie Bacher '20 showed her talent as she ran a freshman and varsity record in 2:55.01 for the 1000 Meters. After coming through the 400 in 68.5, Bacher slowed a bit to hit the half in 2:19.9, but then finished in 35 for her record setting performance.
Maryann Gong '17 was in a very fast section of the Mile and it had her a bit nervous. She was reacting to too many moves and not owning the race, but still ran an impressive 4:53.67, the second fastest time in all of Division III thus far in the indoor season. The senior has much improvement ahead of her as she learns to relax during the race.
Hannah Chen '18 established season bests in both the 200 and 400, running 25.96 and 58.16.
Ariela Slutsky '18 threw a PR in the Weight Throw, establishing the 11th best throw in the country at 55-06 1/4
On the next morning, the quartet of McPhillips, Chen, Tregoning and Gong were aiming to run a solid national qualifying time and possibly break the MIT record of 11:34.20. McPhillips led off with the 1200 leg. Unfortunately, the Engineers were the top seed on the inside alley with the top team, Boston College on the outside alley. By the time it was clear the inside alley was going out too slow, it was too late. McPhillips split a reasonable, but slower than hoped for, 35.6. She stayed with the pack through another 200 for a 70.1 400. She took the lead on her pack, but was too far behind BC to set her sights on them, basically running by herself for the remainder of the leg. She split 3:36.8, which was solid, but at least two seconds slower than she wanted. Chen ran a very smooth 400, but also had no one to chase or run with. Her 57.5 kept Tech on pace to qualify but the record was slipping away. Tregoning went out great in 31.8 and 64.9. Although she was not real fatigued she simply did not know how hard she could push as she is still a relative novice to this level of racing. Her final 400 was a 69.6 for a 2:14.5 overall split. Gong took the baton and truly went after it. Her first 400 was a 71.7 and exactly what she wanted. However she slowed without really being aware of it, running 73.9 and 74.9. Fortunately she was coming up fast on BC at that point, but could still only manage another 74.9 to give MIT a second place 11:45.94. That time is now the top time in Division III and has always qualified for the National Championship. The Engineers will probably run it one more time prior to Nationals.
The men's meet, at least for MIT started with the 800. Both Nathan Munet '19 and Tyndale Hannan '20 were in the same section. Both resisted the urge to get pulled out with the leaders, who were running 53-54 pace. Hannan came through in 56.9, but had already disengaged from the race, running the third 200 in 30.2. Munet remained engaged, coming through in 56.0 and 1:25.2. Munet moved up well in the final 200 to finish in 1:54.60. Hannan actually was able to re-engage, finishing well to clock a 1:55.07.
Danny Newman '17 and Tom Frejowski '19 were both in the 400 and both ran season bests, with Frejowski running an indoor PR. Newman split 23.9 en route to his 50.65. Frejowski also split 23.9 and closed well after settling on the backstretch to finish in 51.11.
In the Mile Run, Tech was represented by Aidan Gilson '19. After four runners broke 4:00 in the fast section and the following sections all went out fast and finished under 4:10, there was hope the same would happen in Gilson's section. However, the 2:08 first 800 had people tripping over each other's feet and elbowing the entire time. All the contact took it out of Gilson, who nearly landed on his face after being tripped. His final time was 4:20.31
The final event for MIT was the 4x400 Relay. There was not much hope of qualifying for Nationals while missing two of the key legs, but qualifying for the fast section of the New England Division III Championship was a goal. Frejowski had a poor start and fell out of the race in the first turn. By the time he handed off at 52.3 he was 30 meters behind. Hannan ran an excellent leg without competition, splitting 49.9, but not making up any ground. Munet, despite still being sick, delivered a solid 50.6 as he handed off to Newman. Newman just did not get out well, splitting 24.5 at the 200 and finishing with a 53.1. The overall time was 3:26.13. Job not accomplished.
Next week, MIT will compete most of their team at Tufts for their Cupid Challenge Invitational.
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