Athletics

Varsity Sports

Women's Outdoor Track and Field

Overview

Krystina Choinski '15 and Agne Jakubauskaite '13 aim to carry strong indoor seasons into the 2013 women's outdoor track and field campaign for Hamilton College. Choinski earned New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) all-conference honors for her performances in the 1,000-meter run at those indoor championships. She was also part of a team-record distance medley relay during the 2012 outdoor season. Jakubauskaite broke the program's indoor record for the high jump in March. The rest of the senior class includes Rachel Cackett '13, Emily Heckman '13, Anna Heywood '13, Muriel Schwinn '13 and Claire Hunsinger '13. Cackett, Heckman, Heywood and Schwinn are the team captains.

Schwinn specializes in the sprints and horizontal jumps. She finished first in the 100-meter dash at the NYSCTC championships for the second straight year in 2011. Schwinn earned NESCAC all-conference honors for finishing third in the long jump at the 2010 championship meet. She holds the team record in the long jump with a mark of 5.33 meters. Hannah Jaiven '14 took third place in the pole vault at the 2011 NYSCTC meet and ended up fifth at the 2011 NESCAC Championships.

Hamilton boasts a number of conference and state champions, as well as a few All-Americans, in more than 30 years of women's outdoor track and field performances. Long-distance runner Maggie Hanson '02 was the most successful of all the female student-athletes that have graced The Hill. Hanson earned five All-America awards for her performances at three NCAA Division III outdoor championships. She captured the honor in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters in 2000 and 2001, and in the 10,000 meters in 2002. The Continentals have placed in the team standings four times at the NCAA championships (1986 and 2000 to 2002). The best finish was a tie for 17th place in 2000 as Hanson was runner-up in the 5,000 and finished fifth in the 3,000.

Hanson is one of the College's five NCAA individual champions since 2000. She won the 5,000 meters at the 2001 Division III indoor meet, and racked up a total of nine All-America awards between cross country and track & field. She is simply the best female distance runner in school history. Two other outdoor track and field athletes earned All-America awards in 1986. Martha Perkins accomplished the feat for the 10,000-meter run and Gail Campbell did it for the javelin throw. Five others have qualified for the national championships since 2000, including Akilah Bond '09 for the triple jump in 2008. Amanda Chase '03 was a participant in 2002 (800 meters) and 2003 (1,500 meters). Ann Toth '02 qualified for the 5,000 meters in 2000. Jen Cammarano '03 (steeplechase) and Kate Nelson '06 (5,000 meters) also made the NCAA field.

Hamilton's track and field complex is named after Walter H. Pritchard '32, who was a great distance runner in the early 1930s. Pritchard finished second in the mile at the 1932 NCAA meet and went on to try out for the U.S. Olympic team. He made the team and competed in the Games in Los Angeles later that year. Pritchard was entered in the steeplechase and was one of four athletes that broke the existing Olympic record during the qualifying heats. He went on to finish in seventh place in the finals, but to this day is one of just three Hamilton alumni that have represented the U.S. at the Olympics.

Academics are another priority for this program. Two athletes have been selected to the academic all-district women's track and field/cross country team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Eleven track and field athletes made the 2012 NESCAC Spring All-Academic team. Each honoree has a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35 and must have reached sophomore academic standing at her institution.

The 2013 schedule includes two invitationals at Hamilton and the prestigious NESCAC championships at Tufts University. Athletes can qualify for the NYSCTC championships and the ECAC Division III championships. The 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships will be held at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.