After making the long, arduous trip to Illinois, through delayed flights and rough travels, selected members from the Hopkins women’s track team competed admirably in the Division III Indoor Track NCAA Championships, setting several school and program records in the process. Despite the delays from an impending snowstorm, the Lady Jays made the trip to Naperville to compete respectably in the National Championship, representing Hopkins to the best of their ability in the process.
To start off the weekend, the distance medley relay team competed against one of the toughest pool of competitors they had faced all year. Coming off of setting the nation's fifth fastest time at the Tufts Invite, the Lady Jays paced themselves throughout the race, exuding poise, confidence and speed. The team was able to crush a previous Centennial Conference record in the event, finishing with an incredible time of 11:40.86, placing sixth overall for the tournament. In fact, according to NCAA.com, the time that the Lady Jays clocked in the event would have been fast enough to place first overall in any other season except for 2007, signifying the tremendous amount of talent they displayed on Friday night.
Sophomore Ingrid Johnson opened the relay with an extremely fast time in the 1200-meter section of the relay, posting a time of 3:38 while freshman Megan McDonald followed with a sub-minute time of 58.5 seconds in the 400-meter section of the race. Freshman Hannah Oneda was slated to compete with the 800-meter section of the race, but was unfortunately ruled out due to illness before the race began. Junior Maggie Shelton replaced Oneda in the 800-meter stretch of the run, turning in an incredible time of 2:14. Senior Annie Monagle then shined in the final 1600-meter stretch of the race, turning in a 4:49 time. The race reflected a tremendous accomplishment for the Lady Jays as they competed against the deepest competition in Division III indoor track history.
"Reflecting back on the indoor season, it was extremely grueling both mentally and physically. In the end, all of my work and all the work put in from every member on the team has paid off. That being said, it's time to approach the outdoor portion of our season and try to improve in every way possible."
Senior Annie Monagle continued her monstrous season by setting a Hopkins program and season record in the mile run, placing third overall in the event.
Monagle started off the race at a swift yet steady pace and stormed by fellow competitors during the last quarter mile stretch, crossing the finish line with an impressive time of 4:49.64. Not only did she set a Hopkins school record in the mile run event, but she also earned her second All-American honor of the year. She had earned her first All-American in the fall during the cross-country season and now has earned her second consecutive honor of the year, an accomplishment that is extremely rare for a single athlete. On top of receiving all of these accolades, Monagle was recognized as the first Blue Jay to place in the top-8 in the mile run since alumnus Laura Paulsen accomplished the feat back in 2009.
Monagle attributed her honors to the efforts of her teammates and coaches.
"Earning the All-American honor is a reminder of how important it is to work every single day towards your goals, and to stay positive and determined to face adversity," Monagle said. "I'm so lucky to have such amazing teammates and coaches supporting me through tough times and pushing me to better myself. I wouldn't have even been able to make it to the championships without them."
To go along with these amazing accomplishments, a couple of other Lady Jays performed very well in their respective events against the most difficult opponents all season long. Oneda, who was seeded second going into the 5000-meter run, entered the race battling against illness that prevented her from competing with the distance medley relay team. Despite her being sick, she was able to place 10th overall in the event with a concluding time of 17.28.17.
For battling against sickness, Oneda’s courage to overcome adversity showed her grit, determination and willingness to give anything to help the Lady Jays place well in the national championships.
“Participating in the championship races was amazing because its an incredible experience to compete at such a high level of competition against the toughest opponents we faced all year,” said Oneda. “Although I was disappointed about getting sick for the medley race, running in the 5000-meter race was still such a rewarding experience.”
Along with Oneda, freshman Imoni McCorvey participated in the triple jump event, finishing with a height of 10.96 meters to place 13th overall in the event.
On top of this incredible performance over the weekend, on the Thursday before the Lady Jays travelled to Illinois, Hopkins track and field head coach Bobby Van Allen was recognized as the USTFCCCA Mideast Region Women’s Head Coach of the Year while Oneda was honored with Track Athlete of the Year. The award was the third consecutive one for coach Van Allen, as he led the Jays to their third consecutive Centennial Conference Championship. The most recent title marks the largest margin of victory and greatest amount of points recorded in conference championship history, while the Lady Jays took 10 of 18 events.
Van Allen also coached the distance medley relay team to victory at the Tufts Last Chance Invitational to set a national record while the medley team notched a 6th place finish in the tournament. Oneda is the first Lady Jay to be awarded this achievement since Paulsen accomplished the feat back in 2009 and 2010.
Oneda had an unbelievable season for Hopkins as a dominant part of the relay team as well as her specialization in the 3000-meter and 5000-meter event.
“I’m honored to receive Track Athlete of the year,” reflected Oneda. “It’s extremely exciting to win this award for me personally as a freshman because it gives me motivation to continue to get better for upcoming races and for future years.”
The freshman recorded the 7th fastest 3000-meter time and the 10th fastest 5000-meter time in NCAA Division III history in her first year competing for Hopkins. She has been recognized with top place finishes in several events throughout the entirety of the year.
As the tournament came to a close, the Lady Jays finished 21st overall in the NCAA Championships, one of their strongest performances at nationals in recent years. Monagle provided fantastic leadership throughout the entirety of the season and set numerous school, personal and conference records while positively influencing her teammates to work as hard as they could every single day at practice.
The team will take a three-day break from competition, following the hectic schedule of invitational tournaments. The next events on the schedule for the Lady Jays are the Stanford and Maryland Invitational tournaments scheduled for March 29th and 30th respectively.
In the meantime, the Lady Jays deserve to celebrate their accomplished indoor season.
