Women's track earns gold at conferences

The women's indoor
track team posted its second
consecutive Centennial
Conference Championship
on Saturday,
with senior Alison Smith,
sophomore Emily Wenson
and freshman Hannah
Eckstein as standouts,
each garnering first place
finishes. Sophomore Alex
Jebb shined for the men, as
the Blue Jays rolled to their
best Centennial Conference
Indoor Track Championship
finish in history,
placing second and winning
four individual titles
in the process.
Jebb bested the field in
the triple jump and long
jump competitions with
those two titles earning
him the recognition of
Most Outstanding Field
Performer. Jebb is the first
Blue Jay since Adam Waddell
in 2008 to be chosen
for the honor. His long
jump length of 13.8 meters
was just shy of his seasonbest
of 13.9 meters.
Freshman Michael
Spadaro also had a strong
showing, jumping 13.71
meters to grab second
place. Sophomores Brendan
Evans and Jonathon
Lee placed sixth and seventh
with jumps of 12.97
meters and 12.94 meters,
respectively.
The Blue Jays also had
four top 10 finishers in the
long jump, with Jebb leading
the way, jumping 6.62
meters, a season-long for
him. Other Hopkins top 10
finishers included freshman
Alex Naticchia (5th,
6.36 meters), Evans (8th,
6.09 meters) and Spadaro
(9th, 6.06 meters).
Freshman Ryan Walsh
got gold in the high jump,
with a height of 1.9 meters.
Classmate Paul Vozzo
earned Hopkins' fourth
individual first place finish
in the pole vaulting
competition with a height
of 4.1 meters.
Hopkins also medaled
in three other relay events.
The 4x200 relay team of
junior Rob Martin, Naticchia,
junior Tobe Madu
and Spadaro came in third
with a mark of 1:32.89, just
behind the second place
finishers by a mere nine
one-hundredths of a second.
The 4x400 team placed
third as well, registering a
time of 3:28.50 for Martin,
Naticchia, senior Jacob
Kramer and Madu. Hopkins
also earned silver for
their second place finish in
the 4x800 relay, as freshman
John Corbett, sophomore
Wes Butler, junior
Ben Press and sophomore
Andrew Carey combined
for a time of 8:02.19.
The Hopkins men totaled
132 points to place
second overall at the meet,
their best finish in school
history, topping a bronzemedal
finish in 2008. Haverford
claimed the championship
with 161 points, while
Dickinson finished in third
place with 113.50 points.
On the women's side,
Smith would nab the Blue
Jays' first gold finish of the
meet, running the 200-meter
dash in a stellar 26.32
seconds. She would also
medal in both the 60-meter
and 400-meter competitions,
coming in second
and third with times of 8.19
seconds and 61.35 seconds,
respectively.
Hannah Eckstein finished
first in the 5,000-meter
run, posting a time of
17:41.25. Sophomore Holly
Clarke also medaled, coming
in third with a time
of 17:52.52. Clarke and
Eckstein also put together
strong performances in the
3,000-meter run, recording
times of 10:19.03 and
10:22.01 to place second
and third, respectively.
Swenson would round
out the gold medal showings
for the women, coming
in first place in the shot
put competition with her
own season-best throw of
12.42 meters. Senior Alana
Merkow came in just behind
Swenson, placing
second with a distance of
12.29 meters.
The Blue Jays' 4x200
meter relay team of Smith,
freshman Kelley Hussey,
sophomore Chloe Ryan and
junior Leah Sibener brought
home a bronze medal with a
season-best mark of 1:49.82.
Junior Kristin Spera
jumped a school-best season
length in the long jump
with a measurement of
4.92 meters, taking fourth.
Junior Alexa Tzaferos
brought home bronze in
the triple jump with a distance
of 10.37 meters.
The Blue Jays women, as
a whole, tallied a dominating
143 points, with second
place Dickinson only
totaling 92 in comparison.
Ursinus (87), Franklin &
Marshall (86) and Haverford
(80) rounded out the
top-five of the meet.