Schwinn and seniors succeed at league championships

by Caitlin O'Connor '14
SPORTS EDITOR

Muriel Schwinn ’13 stole the spotlight last Saturday at the 2011 Liberty League indoor track and field championships at Hamilton’s Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. Hamilton finished third behind rivals St. Lawrence and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Schwinn was runner-up in her three individual events and sprinted the first leg of the 4x200 relay, which resulted in a close second place finish, earning 32 points of Hamilton’s overall total of 71. She lagged only two hundredths of a second behind the winner of the 55-meter dash. With her incredible showing, Schwinn earned all-league honors, bestowed upon the top two finishers of individual events as well as each member of the winning relays.

Hamilton’s distance relay team started the meet off on an exciting note. Although the Continentals had the lead for the first three legs, they were surpassed by the meet winner St. Lawrence in the final seconds. Abby King ’11, Sarah Ohanesian ’14, Anna Heywood ’13 and Erin West ’14 all contributed to a time of 13:11.72.

Exciting relays like this one truly demonstrate strong sense of community found within the female track team. According to first-year Kristy Oren ’14, “Every girl really gave it her all out there, not only competing, but also cheering. Everyone was very supportive, and I think that helped a lot.”

The senior members of the Continentals also had strong performances, notably Maddy Gunter, Meredith FitzPatrick and Brooke Rayder. Gunter and FitzPatrick specialize in the long-distance events, claiming third and fourth place respectively. Gunter finished the mile in 5:26.42, while FitzPatrick ran the 5000-meter run, approximately 3 miles, in 19:17.44. Rayder excelled both on the track and on the mat. She earned fifth place in the 55-meter hurdles with a 9:48, while tying for fourth in the high jump by clearing a height of 1.43 meters.

Although it was their first time competing in the Liberty League Championships, first-years Clare O’Grady and Molly Brooks handled the pressure admirably. O’Grady managed to score for the team with a sixth place finish in the 400-meter dash, while Brooks threw for 12.45 meters in the 20-pound weight throw on her first attempt.

When asked about the current state of the team and what she expects in the coming weeks, Schwinn commented, “Many of my teammates had awesome performances this past weekend, and I know that there will continue to be more improvements in the future. We have a hard working team, a great vibe and a lot of cohesiveness that will bring us to the next level in upcoming meets. Get excited.”

Members of the Hamilton women’s indoor track and field team will travel to Cornell this Saturday, Feb. 19 for an invitational.