The Spartan women kicked off the 2009-2010 Indoor Track & Field season at Northeastern University Saturday. Nearly the entire women's team had phenomenal performances; four women hit personal bests in their respective events.
Sophomore Sarah Callagy set the tone for the Spartan women during her gutsy performance in the mile. Callagy led the field for the first 800-meters, only being passed by three competitors to finish 4th in her heat and 20th overall. Callagy clocked 5:39.08, a lifetime best.
The women's 800-meters was arguably the most exciting event of the day as sophomores Chelsea Klinger and Julia Karl both hit personal bests in the same race. Klinger maintained her composure for the first 400 meters, while the rest of the field jostled for position. With 200 meters to go, she sprinted to a 3rd place finish in her heat, which placed her 13th overall. She clocked a time of 2:32.15, a ten second lifetime best. Karl also ran well, but Karl's inexperience as a distance runner took a toll on her later in the race as she clipped off the first 200 meters in a blistering 33 seconds. Nevertheless, she finished 15th overall, clocking a time of 2:35.98, a lifetime best.
Sophomore Lisa Brevogel showed promise in the 3000-meter race later in the morning. Brevogel raced with excellent form, crossing the line in 12:36.15, a lifetime personal record.
In the sprints, freshman Kelsey Scardera from Lansingburg HS competed in both the 55-meter High Hurdles and the 200-meter dash. Scardera sailed over the hurdles with ease and clocked a time of 9.89 seconds, only fractions of a second off her lifetime best. Scardera came back for the 200-meter dash and ran a 30.38, which is also a best for Scardera.
On the field, senior Jeanette Gibson competed in the shot put and had a throw of 9.92 meters, which placed her 17th out of 40 competitors.
The Spartan women will return to action on December 11th at Fordham University.