It was déjà vu all over again for the men’s and women’s track teams this weekend, as they finished in fourth and second place, respectively at the second Snowflake Classic of the season, this one hosted by Tufts University. It was only the second outdoor meet of the year, following last week’s Snowflake Classic at Northeastern University.
The Terriers posted 12 first-place performances between the two teams, in addition to multiple finishes inside the top three. Almost all of these highlights were in the sprinting and field events, because the team also sent five of its distance runners to Stanford University to compete in the Stanford Classic.
“I was surprised we did as well as we did,” said Boston University coach Robyne Johnson. “We basically sent a split squad there.”
At Stanford, the Terriers’ performance was highlighted by Andrea Walkonen’s fifth-place finish in the 10,000-meter. Walkonen’s time of 33:18.21 was good enough to automatically qualify her for the NCAA championships. Also running at Stanford was Jessica Cickay, who came in third place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:24.38, Marisa Ryan, who ran the same steeplechase in 10:30.57, Abbey Sadowski, who ran the 1,500-meter in 4:29.06 and Christine Laakso, who ran the 10,000 in 34:29.46.
Meanwhile, at Tufts, the women’s team finished in second place behind Dartmouth College in the overall team standings, while the men finished in fourth, behind Dartmouth, Bates College and Tufts.
“We didn’t even know the meet was going to be scored when we first went,” Johnson said. “So we weren’t really trying to win.”
Sophomore Tahari James and freshman Rebecca Marshburn, each of whom turned in a pair of individual first-place performances, highlighted accomplishments on the women’s side.
James won the 200-meter with a time of 25.49 and also placed first in the long jump with a distance of 5.87 meters. Marshburn turned in victories in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.31 and finished first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.31.
The women’s team had three additional first-place finishes. Junior Melanie Piccolo took the top spot in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.81, senior Vicki Lopez won the 400-meter in 58.98 and the 4×100 relay team placed first with a time of 47.75.
“The 4×100 team came really close to breaking the school record,” Johnson said. “I actually predict that they’ll break it this weekend.”
Other Terrier women’s highlights included a BU sweep of the 200-meter, with freshman Alexis Beaudet finishing in second and sophomore Erin Catarius taking third. Beaudet also finished in second in the long jump (5.59 meters). Also finishing in second was freshman Katie Weider in the 400-meter in 59.06, junior Amy Dannwolf in the 800-meter with a time of 2:24.43 and sophomore Megan LaBella in the high jump (5-feet, 2-inches).
Others finishing in the top three for the Terriers were freshman Alyssa Fanucci, who finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.13, and sophomore Jackie Ward, who finished third in the javelin with a throw of 35.28 meters (115-feet, 9-inches).
The men’s highlights included five total first-place finishes. Freshman Jun Dambara took first in the high jump, with a 6-foot, 4-inch jump. Junior Matt Howard placed first in the 400-meter with a time of 48.05 seconds. Junior Greg Sinnott won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:04.69, junior Steven Boursiquot placed first in the long jump with a distance of 6.63 meters (21-feet, 9-inches) and the 4×100 relay team took first with a time of 43.43.
Other top finishers for the Terriers included senior Lucjan Zaborowski, who finished second in the 400-meter (48.05). Junior Andrew Beatman took second place in the javelin (54.37 meters). Senior Ryan Ung finished in fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles (15.88) and freshman Tom McLean came in at seventh in the 1500-meter (4:15.26).
“Andrew Beatman threw a [personal record] by about 13 feet. He’s really been working hard,” Johnson said. “I think Jackie Ward also either threw a PR or tied it. I think their coach, Tom Potronoff, really helps. He was a one-time world record-holder and has really helped the javelin kids and the throwers.
“We have a young team,” Johnson said. “I have high expectations for a lot of the athletes and expect them to continue to get better.”