Before they flew the coop for spring break, the Owls’ men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the NCAC Indoor Track and Field Championships where the men took eighth place, while the women took home fifth. The following week, Anna Brown ’26 and Paula Sorić ’25 traveled to Medford, Massachusetts, to compete in the Tufts University Qualifying Meet for one final chance to qualify for NCAA Division III Nationals.
Women: For the women, success started early in the day, as Olivia Ide ’27 took home second place in the 5,000-meter run. Just three events later, Noa Helmbrecht ’28 finished in sixth-place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.05. Next, Brown took home silver in her signature 800-meter run, crossing the finish line with a time of 2:20.57. To finish out the first day of running events, the team of Rigby Zentner ’27, Addilyn Tober ’28, Sasha Langholm ’28 and Lucie Prior ’28 earned seventh-place in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay.
For the first day’s field events, Sorić jumped right into the competition, earning second-place in the long jump with a bound of 5.38 meters. In the weight throw, Penelope Artemis ’28 threw 13.28 meters, good for sixth-place.
To begin the second day of competition, Helmbrecht, Talulla Sheridan ’25, Ari Sobel ’28 and Olivia Gumz ’27 joined forces to snag seventh-place in the 4×200-meter relay. To follow, Brown found herself on the podium once again in the 1-mile run. The middle distance specialist took home another silver medal, this time finishing in 5:10.94. Rounding out the meet’s running events, Sobel, Helmbrecht, Tober and Brown placed sixth in the 4×400-meter relay. To finish out the field events, Sorić took gold in the triple jump, with her farthest mark of 11.36 meters.
The following weekend, Brown and Sorić travelled to Tufts University (Mass.) for a final chance to qualify for the Division III NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Brown ran the 800-meter run for the final time this season, crossing the finish line at 2:18.185, good for 11th place. Meanwhile, Sorić competed in her signature triple jump indoors for the last time and took home fifth-place, landing a 11.34-meter jump. Despite their impressive performances, neither athlete qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Upon the team’s return to campus, Sorić reflected on her final indoor track season. “Looking back, I had a good indoor season,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian. “I had some goals that I achieved, like getting all-NCAC in long jump and triple jump, and some goals that I didn’t reach, like qualifying for the National Championship. Regardless, I am really proud of the season I’m leaving behind.” Although she didn’t achieve all she wanted to this winter, Sorić still has an outdoor season left ahead of her. “Going into the outdoor season, my goal is to defend my long jump and triple jump medals and qualify for the Outdoor National Championship. But on top of everything else, given that it’s my least track season, I want to have fun!” she said. “As a team, we want to move up in the conference rankings and place higher than we did last year at the outdoor Conference Championship.”
Men: In the NCAC Championships, the men’s team found its first success on the track when Charlie Blackmer ’28 competed in the 800-meter final, where he stopped the clock at 1:56.19, good for bronze. To close out the first day of the meet, the 4,000-meter distance medley relay team of Dylan Ryznar ’28, Josh Greville ’26, Owen Rodstrom ’26 and William Wilson ’25 took home sixth place and three points for the Owls.
On the second day of competition, Blackmer found success once again, taking home silver in the mile with a time of 4:22.68. Rounding out the running events, the 4×400 meter relay team of Emmanuel Makele ’25, Greville, Ryznar and Blackmer earned sixth place. Greville was the only Owl to place in a field event, earning second place in the long jump, recording a leap of 13.37m.
Following the meets, Brown, Sorić and Greville earned All-Region honors in the 800-meter, triple jump and heptathlon, respectively. Both teams will return to the track on Friday as they travel to Atlanta to compete in the Emory Spring Break Classic.