Spring Break
INDOOR TRACK: Bianco wins high jump, but both teams struggle at UAAs
by Melissa Siegel
Staff writer
Sports | 3/11/08
Posted online at 4:51 AM EST on 3/11/08
/ Last updated at 11:32 AM EST on 3/11/08
After leaping 5 feet 3 1/4 inches in the women's high jump competition at the University Athletic Association Championships at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Bessie Bianco '08 tried to clear 5 feet 5 inches , which would have been a school record. She missed, but her last jump, equivalent to 1.61 meters, was good enough to give the men's and women's indoor track teams their only victory of the championship.
"I was very excited, especially because it's my senior year, so I was really happy to perform so well," Bianco said. "I got closer than I ever had before to that [school record] height, so now beating the record or tying it is something that is tangible."
Bianco's victory, however, was one of the few bright spots for either team last Friday and Saturday. The women's team finished in fifth place out of seven teams with 37 total points, two behind fourth-place Case Western Reserve University, while the men's team finished in last place with 14 points, 11 behind sixth-place New York University.
"I don't think we performed to our potential, but I think in a lot of cases we were just edged out by different competition really," Mike Stone '08 said. "I think we might have had too many meets or competitions, but I'm not really sure if you can put [our performance] on any one thing."
The women's high jump turned out to be the Judges' best event, as Suzanne Bernier '10 complemented Bianco's first-place performance with a third-place finish, leaping 1.56 meters. Fellow jumper Ali Sax '09 returned for the first time since getting hit by a car on campus before February break, and took fourth place out of seven jumpers with a lead of 5.03 meters. Sax also competed in the triple jump, leaping 10.71 meters to get fifth place out of the seven jumpers in that competition in the finals.
"I was so proud of [Sax] and so happy that she came and did so well," Bianco said. "That was just so cool that she was dedicated to the team and she bounced back, and she hadn't even been working out for more than a month, so for her to come and place in an event was really an accomplishment."
"I was very excited, especially because it's my senior year, so I was really happy to perform so well," Bianco said. "I got closer than I ever had before to that [school record] height, so now beating the record or tying it is something that is tangible."
Bianco's victory, however, was one of the few bright spots for either team last Friday and Saturday. The women's team finished in fifth place out of seven teams with 37 total points, two behind fourth-place Case Western Reserve University, while the men's team finished in last place with 14 points, 11 behind sixth-place New York University.
"I don't think we performed to our potential, but I think in a lot of cases we were just edged out by different competition really," Mike Stone '08 said. "I think we might have had too many meets or competitions, but I'm not really sure if you can put [our performance] on any one thing."
The women's high jump turned out to be the Judges' best event, as Suzanne Bernier '10 complemented Bianco's first-place performance with a third-place finish, leaping 1.56 meters. Fellow jumper Ali Sax '09 returned for the first time since getting hit by a car on campus before February break, and took fourth place out of seven jumpers with a lead of 5.03 meters. Sax also competed in the triple jump, leaping 10.71 meters to get fifth place out of the seven jumpers in that competition in the finals.
"I was so proud of [Sax] and so happy that she came and did so well," Bianco said. "That was just so cool that she was dedicated to the team and she bounced back, and she hadn't even been working out for more than a month, so for her to come and place in an event was really an accomplishment."
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