With less than two weeks remaining until the Heps indoor championships, excitement is starting to build among the women’s track team. While the team has strong performers in almost every event, recent results have revealed the women’s mid-distance and distance runners as being amongst the strongest competitors.
Led by a strong core of seniors, the women have excellent runners in every event from the 400-meter dash to the 5000 meters.
Senior co-captains Morgan Uceny and Cameron Washington are part of the reason why. Uceny has had an exceptional season to date — at the Southern Tier Collegiate Open she set a school record in the 1000 meters, and last weekend she obliterated the Penn State facility record in the 600 meters. Her time of 1:27.70 was more than six seconds better than anyone else in the field. In between those events, Uceny cruised to victory in the 800-meter race at a dual meet against Harvard and Brown.
[img_assist|nid=21365|title=Run, Tony, run|desc=Senior Tony Salucci leads in the mile run, which she won at the Kane Invitational in Barton Hall on Feb. 3.|link=none|align=left|width=51|height=100]
Washington and classmate Christina Cossell also have been impressive racing shorter distances. In January, Washington led the duo’s 1-2 finish in the 400 meters, and the next weekend, the two finished second and third, respectively, in that same event. Washington and Cossell finished 1-2 in the 300 meters at the Cornell Open the first weekend in February, with Washington earning an ECAC-qualifying 400-meter time of 55.88 seconds at the Penn State Invitational.
Senior Toni Salucci recently highlighted an already strong season by setting a school record in the 3000 meters. having moved three seconds ahead of previous record holder Laura Woeller ’95, still Salucci believes she can do even better.
“I was pretty happy about it, but I still want to run faster,” she said.
Salucci also has done well in the one-mile race, winning the event at the Upstate Challenge and Cornell Open. She plans to rest this weekend and then will compete in the 3K and 5K at the Heps championships.
Salucci, however, is not the only member of the Red to win the mile this season. Fellow senior Nyam Kagwima won the event at this season’s dual meet. On both occasions when Salucci won the mile, Kagwima won the 1000-meter event. Kagwima placed second in the mile race at the Penn State Invitational en route to qualifying for the ECACs.
Senior Erin Linehan has had an excellent season as well, winning the 3K at a dual meet and the Upstate Challenge. She also qualified for the ECAC competition in the 5k this past weekend.
In the shadows of some of her superstar classmates, senior Robyn Ellerbrock has quietly had a very nice season. Like Linehan, she has qualified for the ECACs in the 5K.
The women will cap their outstanding individual seasons at the Indoor Heps on Feb. 24.
“My season has been really good and it keeps getting better,” Ellerbrock said. “Hopefully, I will do even better at the most important events which are coming up.”