Women's Track Takes Sixth at Heps

The regular indoor season for the Harvard women's track and field team (4-2) came to a close this past weekend with a sixth place finish at the Indoor Heptagonal Championships, held at Dartmouth. Although the team hoped for a better performance, there were many positives to be taken from Leverone Field House.

In a meet dominated by league powerhouse Pennsylvania, two of the most solid Crimson performances were turned in by the team's captains. Not surprisingly, senior Amanda Williams (57.11) successfully defended her title in the 400 meters with an impressive victory over Princeton freshman Bynia Reed (57.24).

The Crimson's other captain, Ailey Penningroth, placed second in the pentathlon, finishing behind Angela Jimenez, the Ivy League's top pentathlete.

Fourth-seeded sophomore Margaret Angell (4:56.46), who has shown consistent improvement all season, recorded her best time of the year in the mile. This staked her to an impressive third place finish. The Crimson also received a strong performance in the triple jump, where senior Heather MacLennan (11.60m) placed second. Finishing ahead of MacLennan was yet another Quaker in a seemingly endless line of remarkable Penn athletes.

Ironically, in what may have been the most disappointing performance of the weekend, Harvard's 400m relay team was disqualified after the baton was mishandled in the exchange between Williams and freshman Lee Shearer. However, the blunder will not prevent the relay team from competing in the ECAC Championships this weekend, an invitational meet at Boston University.

"It was extremely disappointing," said Williams, "but since the relay has been one of our strongest events all year we still have a chance to prove ourselves this weekend."

The Crimson will send between eight and 10 women to compete in the Eastern meet, where a victory results in a NCAA Championship berth.

Although disappointing, sixth place was not surprising considering the lack of depth on the Crimson squad.

"We just don't have enough people to cover each event, and that makes it really difficult for us," Penningroth said.

What is impressive about the Harvard women's team is that this scenario did not foster a lack of enthusiasm.

"We were all strongly supportive of each other throughout the weekend, and all of us were making a lot of noise," Williams said. "This team has grown a lot, and there is definitely a lot in store for the future."