Women’s track and field third at Snowflake Classic
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| Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan ’10 put on an incredible performance in her first hammer throw competition since last spring. (Photo by Tom Leonard ’78) |
MEDFORD, Mass. — The Bates College women’s track and field team debuted its outdoor season impressively on Saturday, placing third out of 16 teams at the Snowflake Classic at Tufts University. The Bobcats scored 98 points, second only to Boston University (181) and Tufts (149.5). Rensselaer (77.5) and Boston College (60) rounded out the top five.
Bates junior Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan (Topsham, Maine) highlighted the day in the hammer throw, where she notched a personal best mark of 173-08, meeting the automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships despite it being her first hammer throw competition of the year. Perhaps Duncan was inspired by placing second only to former Bates great Keelin Godsey ’06, who competed at the meet unattached and led all athletes with a top throw of 215-01. It was the same mark that put Godsey in seventh place last summer at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Duncan was also fourth in the discus throw (112-04) and third in the shot put (39-07.75).
Other top performances by the Bobcats included:
- Senior Izzy Alexander (Harvard, Mass.) placed second in the 400-meter hurdles (1:04.69) and third in the 100 hurdles (16.74);
- First-year Tina Tobin (Lowell, Mass.) placed second in the 100 hurdles (15.82);
- Senior Allie Goldstein (Needham, Mass.) was third in the 5,000 (19:12.08);
- Junior Katie Bash (Wallingford, Pa.) was fifth out of 56 in the 1,500 (4:57.64) and sixth out of 47 in the 800 (2:27.03);
- Sophomore Dana Lindauer (Needham, Mass.) was fourth in the 400 (1:01.28);
- Junior Esther Kendall (Ridgeway, Ontario) was third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (12:26.70);
- Senior Jen Marino (Methuen, Mass.) was third in the triple jump (35.03.25).
Bates will compete next Saturday, April 4 at the Jim Sheehan Memorial Meet at Fitchburg State.