Women's track prepares for Heps

This weekend, more teams equal bigger dreams. The Bulldogs finished the HYP meet on Sat., Feb. 10 sandwiched between the Crimson and the Tigers, trailing Harvard by 16 points. At Heptagonals, on Sat., Feb. 24 and Sun., Feb. 25 at Harvard's Gordon Track, the Tigers and four other teams will be there with Yale trying to take down the Crimson on their home turf. As if the Elis needed any help. "This is by far the best team we've taken to this meet in a dozen years," Coach Mark Young, ES '68, said.

REBECCA ROSENTHAL/YH The Bulldogs are looking for a strong finish in Cambridge.

Indeed, if the Elis' performance at the HYP meet is any indication, Young is right on the money. A number of athletes set personal bests at the meet, providing the team with a newfound enthusiasm. "We have the most talent in the Ivy League, and in this format, we can beat Harvard," jumper Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu, TD '01, said. At Heptagonals, as at HYP's, the team hopes to score most of its points in its best events: weight throws, distance races, and the long jump. "If we don't do well in these three, we're going to have an uphill battle," Young said.

In the 20-lb. weight throw, Melanie Harris, BK '01, will try to defend her title and earn much-needed points. Harris shattered the meet record last year with a 58'1.25" throw. This year she has already thrown 57'7''. "We need to do well in the first-day events," Young said. "And winning the weight throw is a big part of that."

Yale will also look to its deep corps of distance runners in its quest to hold off Harvard. "Brown is strong, but Harvard isn't strong [in the distances]," Young said. "We're the best team in the league in distances, and we should score two people in some races." Leading the charge will be the O'Neill twins, Kate, TD '03, and Laura, TC '03. Kate enters the meet with the conference's best 3,000-meter time (9:37.62), and Laura has shaved 25 seconds off of the time that garnered her third at last year's Heptagonals.

There is another set of twins competing this weekend, but for different teams. Brenda Taylor '01 is one of Harvard's top performers, and her twin sister, Lindsay Taylor '01, is a standout at Brown. At last year's Heptagonals, Brenda won the 55-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 55-meter hurdles. Brenda holds the record for the 60-meter hurdles (8.39 seconds), while Lindsay holds the second best time (8.53 seconds).

The two-day meet in Cambridge is especially demanding on the distance runners. "I'm doing the mile and the 3,000 [meters] and I've never done both in one meet. I'm excited to try it," Kate O'Neill said. Kate and Katie Rigney, JE '01, will be among the favorites in the mile race. The team will also rely on its distance relays for points. The 4x800-meter relay team of Rebecca Dickens, ES '04, Rigney, Jessica Thomas, MC '02, and Captain Emily Estey, BR '01, ran a season-best time of 9:15.38 at HYP's, defeating second-place Princeton by 11 seconds.

The meet's format also offers some advantages to teams like the Bulldogs that are strong in the distance events. "There isn't a 5,000 [meter race] in our dual meets, which definitely favors us," Young said.

The team is almost as strong in the long jump as in the distance races. Tuakli-Wosornu, TD '01, is arguably the team's most versatile athlete—and she's on a hot streak. Her 20'3'' jump at HYP's gave her a first place finish. If she matches this jump, she will set a Heps record. "I'm not thinking about the record, I'm thinking about a team victory," Tuakli-Wosornu said. She is also currently ranked third in the 60-meter dash (7.80 seconds) and fifth in the triple jump (39'6''). Jennifer Newsom, JE '01, Tuakli-Wosornu's friend and rival, is also a threat to win the event. She has already jumped 19'5'' this year and is the reigning outdoor Heptagonal champion. "Jen and I have great competition, especially in the long jump," Tuakli-Wosornu said.

Despite the Elis' strengths in these events, the other events could prove to be the obstacles to defeating Harvard. Hurdler Becky Rauth, BR '03, who set a personal best of 8.71 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles despite tripping over the final hurdle and suffering a concussion, hopes to continue her rapid development. Yale's young sprinters have a chance to score a few points. It will be virtually impossible for Yale's inexperienced high jumpers to defeat Harvard's Dora Gyorffy '01, as Gyorffy is the first three-time Heps Indoor MVP and jumped for Hungary at the Sydney Olympic Games.

But with seven teams fighting it out, anything is possible. "We are very deep in jumping and in distance. That should definitely help because the top six finishers score," Kate O'Neill said. Young agreed. "This is the most balanced team that we've sent to Heps in about 15 years," he said. The challenge for the Yale team will be to win in the events that come easily and to push for solid finishes in the weaker events.

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