February 2, 2004 - Sarah Dilley

Last week was an eventful one for women's track and field. We started off the week with the annual Fund Run on Monday. We found people to pledge us money for the number of laps completed in one hour, and the money raised goes towards funding more athletes' trips to the conference meets and a record board.

Athletes ran, jogged, hurdled, and walked around the track while listening to Emory 400-meter runner John Pitts' debut CD, J.A.W.O.L. We throwers enjoyed tossing a football back and forth while the runners completed workouts.

One of my favorite things about the Fund Run is that it's a rare opportunity to have the entire men's and women's teams practicing together on the track. Usually different event groups are spread out throughout the campus and the WoodPEC doing their individual workouts, but at the Fund Run, distance runners are running alongside sprinters and even throwers.

In fact, there was more than one occasion during which the distance guys confiscated the throwers' football, forcing us to chase them down to get it back.

We rounded out the week with the familiar drive to Sewanee, Tennessee, to compete in a dual meet against the University of the South. This was the first of several trips up North that we will be taking this semester, and it proved to be a successful one.

It was the first meet for some athletes and the second for others. It was a short and sweet meet, and the victorious Eagles were able to make it home by 8 p.m.

February 9, 2004 - Meghan Callier

Even though the weather was tough to deal with last week at practices, we still managed to get things done. It was hard to come out and practice in such weather, even on Saturday before we left. In preparation for the meet, we worked more on short distances with much greater speed and intensity.

Last weekend, we journeyed to Newport News, Va., on Saturday afternoon and returned Sunday night. Christopher Newport's track is one of the fastest tracks we will run on this indoor season because of the material of the track and its structure.

We were all prepared and knew the challenges we were going to face when we arrived in Virginia. We all dressed and looked our best for our departure to the airport. Because this was my first official flight as a member of Emory's track team, I was really excited and looking forward to having a great time.

We really didn't know what to expect, but we knew what we had to do. Our coaches encouraged us to hit good times and to get a feel of how UAAs will be in March.

At the meet, competition was tough so we had to step up and put on our 'A' game. We had good results on both the girls' and boys' sides.

Everyone cheered for each other and encouraged each other throughout the races. We had a really good time, but were ready to get back to Atlanta.

The best part about the trip was being able to come back and have practice cancelled the next day because we worked pretty hard all week to at least be rewarded a short break and an evening of relaxation. Overall, we enjoyed the time spent in Virginia.

February 16, 2004 - Anna Lamont

The buses left bright and early for Sewanee for the track meet on Valentine's Day. The buses left at 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30 a.m. depending on the start times of everyone's particular event.

I was on the 6:30 a.m. van, and after we loaded the poles for the pole vaulters, we headed north on I-75. It took everyone about five minutes to cease all conversation and drift back to sleep. Not surprisingly, everyone except Coach Curtin slept the whole way.

Once we arrived at Sewanee, I was done with my events in about three hours and got to settle in to really watch everyone else perform. It was decided in advance that all the buses would leave at the end of the meet at the same time to promote team unity, and I feel that it really helped last weekend.

With everyone there the entire day, it gave everyone a chance, once their events were over, to appreciate their teammates. Everyone was cheering for everyone else.

The relays proved to me to be the most exciting. Three of the four runners in the 4X400m relay are freshmen (Christine Shin, Kelly McWilliams, and Meghan Callier--- Janina Kreider is a sophomore), and did another wonderful job last weekend, with the relay finishing first in the meet.

This week we are having a track girls' pasta dinner. It will be the first one this semester. It will be a good chance to talk with our teammates while relaxing. It will also build team unity before UAAs that are in a few weeks.

February 23, 2004 - Sarah Dilley

It was a long day for the throwers in Tennessee last weekend. We headed out in the van at 7 am Friday to compete at the University of Tennessee and didn't get back until about 10:30 that night. The other athletes arrived much later in the day, but also didn't get home until after 1 a.m.!

Although the hours were long, this meet was a great opportunity to compete amongst some of the best athletes in the world. There were athletes from Division III schools, Division I schools, and some unattached athletes such as Tom Pappas, the reigning world outdoor champion in the decathlon who is favored to win the event in Athens, Greece, this summer.

This meet was very important for everyone to perform well, because the coaches are working on the travel roster for the indoor University Athletic Association championship meet that is the first weekend of our spring break. These next few weeks will be devoted to perfecting form and technique, and resting up to compete our best at Case Western for UAAs.

March 1, 2004 - Meghan Callier

Because we are tapering our workouts in preparation for the upcoming UAAs this week, practice last week was lighter than usual. We are learning new techniques and strategies in order to perform at our best and give it all we got at UAAs.

Last weekend we journeyed to Clemson University to run in their Clemson Classic. We were very excited because Clemson had just completed construction of their state-of-the-art indoor track facility.

We left bright and early on Saturday, leaving at 7:30 a.m. for some and 7:50 a.m. for others. The weather was beautiful at Clemson, sunny with a little breeze, which allowed many of us to go outside onto the fields to study or leisurely read in a nice comfortable area. Some walked around and others warmed up outside before races.

The track was very nice and one that we considered a fast track. For some, Clemson was the meet to hit good times and set good marks in many attempts to qualify for NCAA indoor nationals.

Just as the meet before, many of us got the opportunity to run against Division I schools, and attached individuals, some sponsored by Nike and other organizations and others training for future competitions. Improvements are still needed on everyone's part in order for Emory, as a team in doing the best that we are capable of, this upcoming weekend at UAAs at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio.

The best part of the week was when it SNOWED on Thursday!!! Maybe this was more exciting for me because as a native of Atlanta I rarely see snow, maybe once or twice a year, so I was just as excited to see it as my hallmates were at 5 o'clock in the morning.

March 8, 2004 - Anna Lamont

It was a hectic three days for everyone to get everything done for classes and pack up to go to Cleveland.

However, we managed to work in a team dinner at the ATO house the Wednesday night before leaving. The next morning, after using a phone tree to ensure that everyone would get up, we got on the plane and headed to Akron.

UAAs in particular is always fun for me because everyone is there cheering for everyone else during their events. One of the most exciting performances was watching Dorothy Boone and Caroline Hagedorn pick it up in the second half of the 3,000 meter run and race with so much energy.

The meet itself was so close; the top teams were within just a few points of each other. Placing fourth but being so close to moving up leaves us with the incentive to work harder in the outdoor season.

In addition, some of our freshmen women's parents hosted a team dinner at their house near the meet. Afterwards, the whole team was called in for a humorous rap appearance from one of the guys on the men's team for entertainment. After competing, the whole team appreciated having a place to go to relax for awhile.

UAAs in itself was to me like the end of a marathon. The past few weeks have been a bustle of working out, traveling, and competing. The meet was the culmination of all the work that we have put in since September, but also required that extra push as at the end of a race.

Coach Goss went ahead and gave those who went to UAAs the week off (for spring break) to rest up for the outdoor season. I look forward to the outdoor season as a chance to improve more.

March 29, 2004 - Meghan Callier

Last week we stayed in town to compete at our annual Emory Classic. Because of the renovations to our Woodruff Physical Education Center, we were unable to host it at Emory, but were allowed to use Georgia Tech's track on Friday and Saturday.

This was our first invitational and people were able to run their individual events and make adjustments to outdoor competitions. The weather was beautiful and I really enjoyed it because I'm from Atlanta and it was perfect for running. One bad part was that you could not stay in the sun long because you would not have enough energy to run because it was also humid.

The Classic was great, there were more than 20 schools represented ranging from Division I to Division III. It was very surprising to me because there were teams from everywhere. Teams traveled in vans, charter buses, and, of course, caravans of carpoolers.

There were a lot of competitive athletes, especially the unattached athletes, which was very helpful for the ones who wanted to qualify for nationals. This was our invitational so we had to show off and be very competitive, which we did with much success. Many of the female athletes placed top five in their events, which was almost every event, giving Emory major points.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the fact that my family was able to come see me compete. This was the first time this year they've made it because we have had many meets that have been out of state making it difficult for them to attend. They really enjoyed it, complimenting many of the female athletes from Emory.

Hats off to all of the coaches that helped put the invitational together because it was a wonderful occasion. It started on time and ended on time and stayed as close as it could to the schedule as possible. Special thanks to Coach Heather Atkinson for her hard work and dedication in organizing and making this event such a success.

April 5, 2004 - Anna Lamont

The women's team was split up last weekend between two different meets. The women's 4X400 meter relay and a few others went off to Duke to try to get qualifying times, and everyone else (field events and some sprints) went to Sewanee to perform to their best.

The trip to Sewanee was off bright and early on Saturday. The vans left beginning at 6:30 AM, and the meet began at 9 AM. It was still a bit chilly for the first events but that didn't seem to slow down those competing in those events.

Ashley Demarco jumped 5'2" in the high jump after recovering from an ankle injury in the last few weeks. There were other preformances at Sewanee that were very encouraging for UAAs (which is only a few weeks away).

Esther Choi had an amazing day at the long jump finishing second. Katie Anding won the pole vault at Sewanee, improving crucial inches that we will need for UAAs. It was also a lot of fun to watch Angela Davie and Andrea Cover run their hardest in the afternoon at the meet.

Sewanee is also a good meet to try new events. I was able to run on the sprint medley relay, which was a first for me. I have always just competed in field events, but running was something that I had wanted to try before I graduate.

The performances on the women's side from Duke were improvements on past weeks. I look forward to UAAs in the next few weeks to do the best that I can personally, and watch the team improve from the fourth place at the conference indoor championships.

April 19, 2004 - Meghan Callier

Last weekend, we traveled to Vanderbilt University to participate in their invitational. We were very excited about going because the upperclassmen said that many people had set personal records and NCAA provisional times in their events last year.

The coaches were excited because it was a fast track. Furthermore, because the weather was nice and warm on Saturday, it was the perfect day to run and do well.

The ride to Nashville was a little challenging because we got trapped in traffic and it took us longer than expected to get to Vanderbilt. Once we arrived, we got to see the last few races of Friday. The one I really enjoyed was the steeplechase.

The reason that I really like that event is because people get to jump over this one barricade and land in a pool of water which they do about seven or eight times. I lost count after awhile, but they jump into the water a good number of times.

Our steeplechase runner, Kate Bowman, who hit the NCAA provisional time this weekend, did an awesome job in the event. I enjoyed seeing her compete because she looked very strong and so determined to perform at her best.

A lot of the runners got to bond while on the trip because we pretty much stayed five to a suite and because we carried a lot of people to this meet.

On Saturday, many of the sprinters and relays competed and felt very well in doing it, but our times didn't show much improvement from the previous week at UNC-Charlotte. I know a few personal records that people made, like Miss Jane in the 200-meter dash and some hurdlers and throwers.

The coaches were right about Vanderbilt having a nice fast track because while I was competing I felt that I was going much faster than what my times show so I was sort of disappointed but at the same time happy because I felt good and relaxed while running.

The best part about the trip was that no matter what was going on, if we knew that Emory was competing in an event, everyone cheered and yelled for that person, no matter if they were a sprinter, jumper, mid-distance runner, long-distance runner, thrower or whatever. We all got up and yelled their name encouraging them to push a little or even just finish the race strong.

The Emory women's team can't wait for UAA this week because we have something to prove to the other teams in the conference. We are out to win and won't accept anything less than a victory. We have improved since the UAA indoor meet and we are ready and prepared. We know we can do it and we are out to prove it. So watch out, here we come.

April 26, 2004 - Anna Lamont

The UAA meet last weekend was in Pittsburgh. We flew up early Friday morning and arrived at the hotel that afternoon. There was (as there is every year) a banquet the night before competition that included all of the track and field athletes from every team in competition.

The first night's stay for me was a mix of happy and sad. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the team and be silly sometimes, but it was sad, too, because I knew it was my last overnight track meet.

The next morning, it was time for competition. The women's 10,000-meter run was going on while we were long jumping. Dorothy Boone, Emily Hoyt, and Laura Burns did an amazing job in that event.

Competing in the long jump was a lot of fun. It was interesting that it was exactly what happened last year at the outdoor UAAs, except with slightly different athletes; one of us has an amazing jump which sparks everyone else to jump further, too. Each of us this year came out having big improvements from any previous jump this season.

At this meet, there were tons of parents who showed up. There were more there than I can ever remember being at an away meet. It was nice to have so much support. We left the meet on Saturday, being fourth as a team overall. Despite the excellent performances that day, it wasn't enough to push us up higher than fourth, which was the same that we were in the indoor UAAs.

I think that everyone knew that fourth was not where we should be. Performances picked up even further on Sunday, which was the last day of competition. We were able to come out second as a team.

I would personally like to thank my teammates for working so hard all semester and pushing through last weekend. I admire everyone individually for their work ethic, and all that I have learned from each of them. The coaches have been amazing, and have taught me a ton about being a track and field athlete.