Keene State College’s athletes are definitely finding their stride this spring season.
Joey Sullivan / Equinox Staff
Eight women on the track and field team recently qualified for the upcoming Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship meet.
The athletes include Taylor Bisaillon, Alana Olendorf, Erin McNemar, Mila Barrera, Laura Dawson, Katharine Lynch, Lynne Hebert and Dominique Pascoal.
Qualifying records included the following: Bisaillon in the shot put, with a throw of 10.49 meters, Olendorf in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, at 12:40.15, McNemar in the high jump at 1.49 meters, Pascoal in the javelin, throwing 32.88 meters, and relay team Barrera, Dawson, Lynch, and Hebert qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 4×800, with a time of 10:27.92.
The 2018 ECAC Division III Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be held from Wednesday, May 16 through Thursday, May 17 at John Hopkins University.
Achieving success requires many things, including the hard work and strong will to keep going.
Junior Olendorf said, “This was my first time qualifying for the ECAC meet. Leading up to qualifying was a lot of hard workouts and dedication, which involved spending extra time outside of our scheduled practice times working on hurdles and drills.”
As a first-time qualifier for the ECAC meet, Olendorf was not alone in her accomplishment. Olendorf’s teammate, McNemar, who is also The Equinox Arts & Entertainment Editor and a first-year at KSC, joined her.
After McNemar qualified, she said she was initially “surprised” because the jump was “lower than” her high school personal record.
McNemar continued, “I was pretty happy about qualifying because this year I have been struggling kind of. I’ve had to reconstruct my form a little bit, which, at first, gets worse before it gets better. It was the best that I have jumped all year.”
For some of the KSC women’s track team, this isn’t their first rodeo, as they qualified again for the ECAC championship meet this year.
Junior Bisaillon said, “I’m excited to know I have a chance to keep competing, but I’m really hopeful my marks will just improve from here.”
Bisaillon said the ECAC is just like any other meet for her, meaning she hopes to compete to “the best of her abilities,” make the long training season “count” and “be proud” of the performances afterward.
Moving forward this season, the team is focusing on the upcoming LEC meet next weekend.
Olendorf said, “The team will also be working towards qualifying for the New England Division III Championship.”
Julia Eichman can be contacted at jeichman @kscequinox.com
