The Boston University women’s track team won the Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships Sunday, claiming the title for the first time since 2016.
The men’s and women’s teams competed at the Wesley Brown Fieldhouse at the Naval Academy in Maryland this weekend. The women dominated over the two-day stretch, earning seven gold medals and breaking several school and meet records.
Junior Vera Sjöberg placed first in the mile, 3000 meter and 5000 meter races, setting a new league record in the mile, and setting the fastest time in the 5000m in the facility.
With her sweep of the distance events, Sjöberg became the first athlete in Patriot League history to do this in back-to-back years, leading all runners with 30 points.
Led by junior Peace Omonzane, the Terriers swept the triple jump and scored four out of five top spots in the long jump. Omonzane’s 6.20 meter long jump is the all-time best by a Terrier and is a new meet record.
“It’s a credit to the athletes, their focus and the work they put in to be successful,” said Grant Cartwright, BU director of track and field. “Coach [Sara] Macey’s done a great job with that group.”
For the first time in his career, Cartwright took home Patriot League Women’s Coach of the Year, and on the athlete side, Omonzane was named Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet and Sjöberg took home Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet.
The women’s team looked strong from day one, with junior Ellie Roan winning gold in the weight throw, setting a school-record distance of 20.43m. Roan is the only Terrier in school history to eclipse 20m in the event, and she outthrew second place at the PL Championships by over two meters.
Freshman Olivia Hughes won the pentathlon with a score of 3581 points, good for fourth in school history. Hughes finished first in the high jump and shot put, en route to her convincing victory.
Hughes is the third Terrier ever to win the women’s pentathlon, and the first in five years.
Omonzane and the team look to carry this success into next season, much of which she credited to the team’s bond and chemistry.
“There isn’t a single person on this team who didn’t grit and claw for every point they possibly could, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that,” she said. “We knew we were capable on a good day, and we did everything we could to make every day a good day.”
The men’s team took home third, bouncing back from a tough first day of events, but were ultimately unable to overcome Navy and Army. This marks their fourth-straight top-three finish at the competition.
Graduate student Foster Malleck took home two gold medals at the meet, breaking four minutes in the mile and winning the 3000m by nearly five seconds. Malleck’s 3:58.11 mile, while short of his personal best, was good for the meet and facility record.
Three Terrier runners finished top-four for the mile, and Malleck credits his teammate Karsen Vesty for helping him start the race quickly and hit his sub-four goal.
“I have to give a lot of thanks to Karsen, because he started getting out hot,” said Malleck. “Just sit in the pack for the first 600 meters, then I felt it was a good time to get to the front.”
This indoor season was Malleck’s last semester of eligibility as a collegiate athlete.
Malleck, a decorated runner, has been named All-Patriot League multiple times, and was named Patriot League Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week three times this season alone.
“From when I was a freshman to where we are now, I think the program overall has come so far, and it’s only going in the right direction,” said Malleck. “We have so many talented guys on this team, and we have the right leadership in place to keep the boat moving.”
As the Terriers celebrate their victory, all eyes now turn to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 14 and 15.
With Sjöberg and Malleck at their best, the Terriers can hope for the chance to make a statement on a national stage and cap off a successful season when national qualifiers are announced Tuesday.
