The Boston University women’s track team defeated all comers – including the other eight teams in the America East – this weekend to capture the conference championship.
Junior Abbey Sadowski starred for the Terriers at the America East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship – held at the Track and Tennis Center – winning the mile run and the 1000-meter race. Sadowski finished the meet by running the last leg of the winning distance medley relay in 11:42.16, breaking an America East record that has stood since 2003.
“Abbey is a really strong runner with a lot of talent,” said Raphael Fennimore, a freshman on the BU men’s squad. “As you can see, she won both the 1000 and the mile for the women and was also on the winning distance medley team, giving them 30 points there alone.”
Sadowski looked most impressive in the 1000-meter, in which she was far ahead of her opponents the entire way and won her section by a Secretariat-like 10 seconds with a time of 2:51. She won by four seconds over sophomore teammate Anne Wighton.
Sadowski also broke a 1995 America East record previously held by BU’s Christine Stief with a time of 4:51.97 in the 1-mile race. For her efforts, Sadowski was named the America East Track Performer of the Year.
“She is a great athlete who deserves the title,” Fennimore said.
BU junior Marisa Ryan finished first in the 3000-meter with a record-breaking 9:40.21. Fellow Terrier Andrea Walkonen won the 5000-meter with a time of 16:13.80, over 14 seconds faster than the previous conference record.
The BU women also won the high jump, long jump and triple jump. Senior Nikki Hill won the high jump with a 5-foot, 5.75-inch leap as sophomore Tahari James won the long jump with a 19-foot jump and followed up that performance with a win in the triple jump, hopping 40 feet, 4.25 inches. As a result, James was named Field Performer of the Year. She also won the Coaches Award for accumulating the most points.
Women’s coach Robyne Johnson was named America East Coach of the Year, while University of Maryland-Baltimore County’s David Bobb won the men’s honor.
Overshadowed by the women’s success, the men also turned in good efforts of their own at the America East meet.
“I think we did quite well,” Fennimore said of the BU men’s team. “We definitely had some amazing performances and many people who broke personal records.”
The University at Albany won the men’s event – while the BU men finished fifth overall.
In the men’s 400-meter dash, BU junior Barry Graham led for a good portion of the race, but eventually gave way to junior teammate Matt Howard, who finished in 48.43 seconds, winning by .07.
BU senior Lucjan Zaborowski won the men’s 500-meter dash with a 1:02.69 time and also finished first in qualifying the previous day.
“Lucjan ran a really strong race,” said BU senior Pete Maitland. “He looked real good out there.”
In the men’s 1000-meter run, BU sophomore David Proctor won with a 2:26.37 mark.
The BU men proved strong again, winning the 4×400 meter relay. Zaborowski teamed with Graham, Howard and sophomore Dan Ruch, finishing with a time of 3:13.89.
“The 4×4 squad had a real good meet out there,” Maitland said. “They showed a lot of heart.”
BU sophomore Gregg Dagget was BU’s lone representative in the Heptathlon. Dagget finished fifth with 4,496 points, 414 points behind Hasani Hampden of Binghamton University.
According to his teammates, Dagget represented the Terriers extremely well.
“Gregg did a really god job,” Maitland said. “Gregg rose to the occasion.”
Overall, it was a good weekend for the Terrier Indoor Track and Field Team.
“It was my first collegiate championship, and was really large, but very exciting,” Fennimore said. “We had people breaking records and setting personal records right and left.
“It was my fourth championship,” Maitland said. “Easily the best we’ve done at least since I’ve been here. It’s definitely sad that it will be my last one, but at least it ended on a good note.”