On Sunday, members of the women’s track team marched into Barton Hall sporting t-shirts that had the words “Our House” emblazoned on their chests.
When the girls earned the title of Heps champions later that day, the motto became much more than a simple statement.
It was a declaration of pride and an echoing battle cry of a team that understood the power of the word “teamwork”.
The strength of any team is gathered from its individual performances and some of the most dynamic individuals for Cornell last weekend were the short distance sprinters.
Junior Katy Jay, and sophomores Hannah Garrity and Merili Mosley led the pack, turning in four wins and a total of eight finishes at fourth or higher..
Garrity was perhaps the most prolific runner, responsible for four of the group’s eight scoring performances.
She was third in the 60m, second in the 200m, fourth in the 60m hurdles, and was a member of the first place 4×400 relay team.
She has been a consistent performer for the Red all year and took the field by surprise when she qualified for ECACs in the 60m hurdles.
“I just started running hurdles this year, so it’s really exciting,” said Garrity.
Jay believes that the team’s phenomenal success this season is due to the hard work of teammates like Garrity.
“This year there have been a number of people who have broken through. Hannah amazes people with what she’s doing,” said her teammate. “She just started hurdling this year and she’s already become one of the top hurdlers in the league.”
Like Garrity, Jay has what it takes to make jaws drop in amazement.
This season she has repeatedly broken the women’s indoor records in the 60m and the 200m.
At Heps, last weekend, she swept each of her three events. She won the 60m and the 200m, contributed a leg to Cornell’s winning 4×400 relay, and was named Athlete of the Meet.
This season she was also named the Deneault Invitational’s MVP, an honor she shared with her teammate Mosley.
Mosley, who competes in the long jump as well as the 60m hurdles, helps deepen her team’s reservoir of talent.
Placing first in the hurdles and fourth in the long jump at Heps, Mosley was a key contributor to the team’s final score.
Yet she insisted it was a team effort.
“This year we’re really motivated,” said Mosley. “Everyone has been pushing each other.”
All three sprinters agreed that the team’s success would not have been possible without the efforts of one group in particular.
“Our freshmen are amazing,” said Jay. “They’re aggressive, they’re talented. The team would not be the team it is without them.”
Mosley aptly described the spirit that carried the women through the beginning of their extraordinary season: “People were so excited that I won this weekend, and I was like, ‘No, I’m excited that my team won.’ That is so much more important to me that anything else,” said Mosley.
“We are a support network for each other. We’re like family.”
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