Women’s track and field prepares for indoor season

Coming off of a stellar finish in cross country, women’s track and field foresees a strong winter indoor season.

After finishing 21st at the NCAA Championships, many members of women’s track and field took a short break from running to recover and rehabilitate before gearing up to compete on the track. Many of the distance runners will compete in the 5,000m race and the mile.

Meanwhile, the sprinters, jumpers, and throwers have been training hard during the fall in anticipation of the indoor season.

“On the sprints side, we have been training hard in the weight room and focusing on developing our sprint technique to make sure we are prepared for the two long seasons ahead,” said sophomore sprinter Katie DiFrancesco.

The Class of 2022 features 14 top recruits, bringing new talent across all events. First-years Gillian Wagner and Page Lester were key components to the success of women’s cross country.

“I am especially enthusiastic about the freshman short sprinters we have added to the team, Grace Lanouette and Isabella Hilditch, as I think they will be a great asset in helping the sprinters contribute more to the team score at HEPs,” DiFrancesco said.

Sophomore thrower Obiageri Amaechi echoed DiFrancesco.

“So far, with the addition of our new team members, I feel that we are off to a strong start,” said Amaechi. “For the women’s throws we have three new members. They work very hard and we all push each other. I’m excited to see how much we grow this indoor season.” Amaechi herself will be key to the Tigers’ success this season. She represented the Tigers this summer, placing 14th at the IAAF World U20 Championships and finishing 7th in the discus at the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships last spring.

This weekend, a few of the Tigers will contend at the Fasttrack Season Opener in Staten Island. The majority of the team will compete for the first time this season at home in Princeton’s New Year Invitational on the following Saturday, Dec. 8.

Last year, track and field had a disappointing finish to the 2017 indoor season, coming in sixth at the indoor Heps championships. But the team is realistically vying for a higher finish.

“I’m super optimistic and hopeful about this upcoming indoor season. We have so much momentum from our cross country women’s effort at nationals, and our team is deeper than it has ever been before,” DiFrancesco said.