Season Preview: Women's track and field ready for new season
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Gallaudet University women’s track and field team will kick of their season at the Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet in Salisbury, Md., on Saturday March 3. The Bison will have a lot of new faces this year as they only return four athletes from last year’s team and have 18 new faces on this year’s squad. While a lot of them are new to the track and field program, some of them participate in other sports at Gallaudet including women’s basketball, cross country, soccer, swimming and volleyball.
“Playing other sports definitely has an advantage when it comes to time management,” said Gallaudet University track and field head coach Mikaela Hudson, who enters her second year at the helm. “Their experience in other sports is going to help out the team tremendously. That experience will translate well to the rigors of being a Division III track and field athlete.”
The Gallaudet women’s team will have a total of 22 athletes competing this year. The large number of athletes will provide some much needed depth for the Bison.“We have a very balanced team and we are strong in every area,” said Hudson.
Gallaudet will be led this season in the field by sophomore thrower Leslye Kang (Wayne, N.J.). Kang broke the school record in javelin with a throw of 37.81 (124 feet) at the Mason-Dixon outdoor championship last spring. The throw broke the old record of 119 feet held by Heather Lightfoot back in 1999.
The throwers have both been working with the new throwing coach Joshua Kaehler this spring. “I think they’re responding remarkably to his approach,” said Hudson.Kang is looking forward to having another successful season in the javelin.
“We are excited and looking forward to her season and we’re hopeful that Leslye will join Darius Flowers at regionals and possibly nationals,” said Hudson.
Shadoe Williamson (Austin, Texas) and Lindsey Corthell (Orlando, Fla.) are going to be a dynamic duo in the distance events this season as they have both impressed at practice.
“At practice they really push each other and feed off each other and we’re hoping that translates well in competition this season,” said Hudson.
Junior Chelsie Stallings (Sulphur, Okla.), sophomore Radoslava Slavova (Scranton, Pa.) and freshman Rachel Young (Leesburg, Va.) were members of the cross country team in the fall with Williamson and Corthell and will help secure the distance running events for the Bison this spring.
Mariah Ransom (Snellville, Ga.) and Harmony Brunson (Monrovia, Md.) are two hurdlers that are going to stand out and impress people this season.
“Much like Shadoe and Lindsey, Mariah and Harmony feed off each other well and make each other better every day,” said Hudson. “I predict we will be more successful then in seasons past both academically and athletically. I think we will have better results this spring. I am excited to get the season started,” said Hudson.
Schedule
The 2012 schedule for the men’s and women’s track and field teams features trips to Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The first opportunity will come when the Bison travel to Salisbury, Md., for the Lloyd Sigler Spring Meet hosted by Salisbury University on March 3. The Bison then will travel to Bridgewater, Va., on March 24, for the Dr. Harry GM Jopson Invite followed by a trip to Chester, Pa., a week later to participate in the Danny Curran Invitational hosted by Widener University.
The month of April starts with a trip to Towson, Md., on the campus of Goucher College for the its own Goucher Invitational on April 7. The next Saturday the Bison will travel to former Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) foe York (Pa.) College to partake in the Green and White Invitational. GU will have a week off before returning to Pennsylvania to Shippensburg University on April 28 for the Paul Kaiser Classic.
In May, the Bison will participate in the two-day Mason-Dixon Outdoor Championships in Gwynedd Valley, Pa., from May 5-6 on the campus of Gwynedd-Mercy College. For those members of the Gallaudet track and field team that qualify or are close to qualifying they will attend the SWAT Last Chance Meet in Swarthmore, Pa., on May 14 and the Lions’ Last Chance Meet in Ewing, N.J., three days later. Those who qualify for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships or the NCAA Division III championships will participate in those events on May 17-18 and May 24-26, respectively.