Seahawks run, jump, throw in rain at Coast Guard

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Freshman Rebecca Longvall (Boylston, Mass.) continued her undefeated streak with a first place finish in the javelin at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Invitational in New London, Conn. Longvall was five feet clear of her nearest competitor, although adverse conditions made it difficult to throw at her best. Rain and 41 degrees made it difficult for anyone to perform optimally but the Seahawks competed with enthusiasm nonetheless.

Sophomore Ema Waldschmidt (Verbank, N.Y.) placed second in the first 5000m of her career with a 20:06.85 clocking. Distance coach Dave Kraszewski commented that Ema would surely have run quicker with better competition, but had to race 2.5 miles by herself. Sophomore Alexa Bracco (Hauppage, N.Y.) also placed well as she collected third in the pole vault with a leap of 8'6.

Sophomore Kayley Ryan (Portland, Conn.) was timed in 5:11.42 in a very competitive 1500m race, good for fourth. Hurdlers MaryElizabeth Pfund (Tenafly, N.J.) and Kelsey Knight (Amherst, N.H.) garnered fifth and seventh in the 100m hurdles with times of 16.95 and 17.26 respectively, both collegiate bests.

Senior co-captain Kelsey Jacobsen (Colonie, N.Y.) snagged a sixth place in the 100m in 13.91. Freshman thrower Victoria Newcomb (Hanson, Mass.) rounded out the individual scoring with an 85'3" toss in the discus, good for 8th place.

Coach Matt Hird remarked, "This team looks to every meet with enthusiasm, eager to record improvements. The weather today could have been worse, but that is not saying much. Even so, they had seven collegiate bests while two others tied their career bests. We were not at full strength due to injuries. If we had been fully fit, I think we would have been challenging for some of the top team positions. We have two weeks to mend and hope to begin to round into form at UMass Amherst on April 14."