While couples around the world were spending the weekend feeding each other bon-bons and whispering sweet nothings, the Nike Central Park women took to the track and dropped the hammer. PRs, season bests, and top ten times were aflutter at the Boston University Valentine’s Meet this weekend in everything from the 55m to the 5000m.
Getting the party started in the 5000 was Resie Caffrey. Resie threw some ‘bows to show she meant business in the crowded field, and found a spot in the middle of the pack. She settled in and was mistaken for a metronome as she hit each lap exactly on pace. She ran 18:32.15, a 40-second PR. You heard right–40 seconds!!!
Next up was Jodyann Raymond in the 55 meter dash. She dropped a 7.22 in the prelims and a 7.26 in the finals, good enough for 8th place overall. Jodyann also ran the 200 in a blistering 25.20. She exploded out of the blocks and stayed relaxed the whole way, earning her the #1 spot on the CPTC Best Times list.
In the mile, both Natalie Gingerich and Kate Cushing showed a lot of “heart” in their races. Natalie ran a PR of 4:47.97, dropping seconds from her DMR mile leg just last week and looking strong the whole way. She pulled away from the rest of the field with two other competitors at the 600 meter mark. It was a race of three for the next six laps, and Natalie made a decisive move for the lead with one to go. She turned it over the last lap, and finished second by just .34 seconds in a nail-biter of a race. In the second heat, Kate took the lead with two to go, and was just edged out at the finish. She ran an indoor PR of 4:56.84.
The 800s were up next and Caryn Gehrke and Joy Romulus represented the orange in the half mile. Despite battling a cold all week, Caryn toed the line in the first heat and went for it. She ran smoothly and strongly, as she’s known to do, and pulled out a 2:10.34 in the 800. In the third heat, Joy struggled for position in the beginning, and was forced to run in lane 2 for the first 400 meters. But she made a strong move at the halfway mark that placed her in third and the last lap was a free for all as the race clumped back up and everyone sprinted madly to the finish. Joy ran a very solid 2:16.77.
Kate Irvin and Aileen Conlon capped off the evening with stellar performances in the grueling and unforgiving 3000 meters. After coming through the mile mark of the 3000 in 4:56, tying her indoor mile PR, Aileen showed what competitive toughness means, and ran her second fastest time this season–9:36.71. Kate Irvin, in her first indoor race of the season, ran a superb 9:51.84.
On Saturday morning the women’s DMR team wrapped up an exciting meet and set the stage for the men’s meet with an 11:37.92, winning the race by eight seconds. Kate Cushing led off with a 3:35 in the 1200, handing off in second place. Then, as if Cupid himself had struck her, Joy Romulus took off in the 400 leg with a blistering 26 seconds for her first 200 meters. She rolled it home in a 31, for a solid 57 split. She handed off to Natalie Gingerich, who took control of the 800 and put a gap on the field. Nearing the finish it looked as if the handoff to Aileen Conlon might cause some trouble, but it turned out to be a seamless pass, and Natalie clocked a 2:10. Aileen took off in the mile, blazing through her first lap, and immediately stretched the lead over the second-place team. She continued to pull away over the course of the eight laps, and finished with a smoking-fast 4:53 split.
For more track and field fun, check out the Flo Track videos of the meet at
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234643-2009-bu-valentine-invitational.