Track and Field 4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM

Blue Track Has Successful Weekend at Princeton, Tufts

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College track team had a successful weekend of competition, racing at the Tufts University Invitational, as well as the Division-I dominated Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational at Princeton University.

In New Jersey on Friday, Wellesley sent standouts Randelle Boots and Leah Clement to compete against top-level competition. Both athletes held their own against Division-I opponents and hit national qualifying standards.

Boots led the way with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:24.66 in the 1,500-meter run. In the process, she broke her own Wellesley record and also recorded the top Division-III performance this outdoor season. Clement also fared well, posting a time of 2:12.16 in the 800-meter run. Her time provisionally qualifies her for the NCAA Division-III Championship and also breaks a school record.

On Saturday at the Tufts Invitational, Wellesley athletes battled rain and wind in a successful meet. Camille Basurto highlighted the Blue action with a winning time of 10:35.23 in the 3,000-meter run, while Katie Shulenberger, also notched a win, finishing first in the 400-meter hurdles.

Wellesley also had strong showings in the 800-meter, 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter runs. In the 800, Blue runners finished 2-3-4, as Cristina Lucas placed second (2:27.82), Margaret Wehner took third (2:27.99) and Eden Bass finished fourth (2:28.80).

In the 1,500-meter event, Lucas took fourth in 4:55.35, while Jane Lodwick and Wehner finished fifth (4:57.91) and seventh (4:59.23) in personal best times. Racing in the 5,000, Doris Berman took fifth overall in 20:29.42, while Catherine Roseman and Anna Tupper-Bridges both recorded personal bests in finishing seventh and eighth.

Also for the Blue, all-around threat Zoe Sobel competed in four events, finishing fourth in the triple jump, fifth in the long jump and seventh in the shot put. She also teamed with Alexis Puccetti, Sheena Dupuy and Shulenberger to take fourth in the 4x100 relay in 55.13. Rounding out the competition for Wellesley, Puccetti took fifth in the 400-meter run in 64.91.

The Blue are back in action a week from today, competing at the 2011 NEWMAC Championships, hosted by Coast Guard. Wellesley will be competing in the event for the first time in the history of the program.