Individuals post good results at ECACs

The winter indoor season continued for three of the Panthers’ best track athletes this past weekend. Adam Dede ’11 was the only athlete for the men, competing in the pole vault.

“There was a really big field,” he said., with “about 30 vaulters in the competition,” he said. “These were some really talented athletes.”

The competition has been getting tighter and tighter since the team season ended in February. Starting with the Division III New Englands, those in the meet qualified individually based on performance during the season, and as each week passed, the standards became higher and higher.

“I was really happy with my jump,” said Dede, who came in 15th with a jump of 14 feet and 5 ¼ inches. “I was also seeded 15th so it was good to see that finish.”

One of the biggest challenges at the meet this weekend was the sheer number of competitors. While track meets always have many different schools and athletes competing, it can become hard to get into a rhythm when there are many athletes in one single event.

“It was a tough meet in the sense that there were so many vaulters in the competition,” he said. “There was way too much time between heights and I had to warm up and cool down between every jump. I was in competition for over three hours so in that aspect it was kind of tiring.”

Kelley Coughlan ’09 and Kaitlynn Saldanha ’11 represented the Panthers on the women’s side, and both had strong performances. “Coming into the meet it was a little intimidating,” said Coughlan. “It was a much bigger meet than I was used to.”

Despite this, Coughlan was able to finish her senior indoor season with a 10th-place finish, jumping 11.08 meters. With the jump, she ranked 33rd in the nation in Division III. “I haven’t been competing well lately and I wanted one last good performance in my last senior indoor meet,” she said. “I was really happy with my jump. It was a great feeling to go out with a strong jump, especially in this sort of competition.”

Saldanha ran the 800-meter, placing 17th with a time of 2:22. Although this was her slowest time, it has nonetheless been a great season for Saldanha. “For me it definitely was a breakthrough season,” she said. “It was the first good season I’ve had at the collegiate level and I’m very excited about it.”

Based on her time at Division III New England’s, Saldanha placed 21st in the country in the 800-meter run, which was good enough to qualify for nationals. This Friday she is running a time trial at the Rose-Hulman Institute in Indiana.

Despite her obvious excitement over heading to nationals, Saldanha is, like everyone else at this point, excited about the outdoor season. “I think we have the potential to be contenders,” Saldanha said. “Outdoor track is faster than indoor.”