University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: CAA
Winning Energy Carries Delaware Track & Field To Glory
7/10/2019 9:37:00 AM | Track & Field
The javelin throw is not the most glamorous event at a track & field meet. It doesn't have the fast pace of the sprints or the big crowds of the relays, but for the Delaware women's track & field team, the javelin throw provided the spark that led them to the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association championship.
The Blue Hens were not the favorites entering the Championships at Elon in early May; if you projected the results of the events based on marks from throughout the season, Towson would have taken home the team title.
But the Blue Hens never wavered despite not being the favorites. A spirited, total team effort gave Delaware 174 team points, well clear of Towson's 160.66. Delaware had 27 different student-athletes contribute to the point total (several of them with personal best marks) in 18 different events, claiming 16 medals (3 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze).
It all started with senior javelin thrower Alexis Lipnicky, who in a team meeting the night before the meet started, informed her coaches and teammates that she would not be returning without a championship ring on her finger.
Going into the sixth and final round of throws, Lipnicky sat in fourth place. On her last throw, her last chance at glory, she heaved the javelin 43.62 meters (143'1"), literally one centimeter further than second place. She had given the Blue Hens an early lead after the first scored event of the weekend, and that winning energy immediately spread to the rest of the squad.
"Okay this sounds crazy but in my head -- I didn't want to jinx anything – from the time that Alexis won the javelin, just the energy we had, I was like 'we're going to do this,'" freshman Roshelle Leaks said of the Blue Hens' championship mindset.
Leaks wasn't projected to score in any of the three events in which she competed, but earned points in all three: fifth place in the 100-meter dash (4 points), sixth in the 200-meter dash (3 points), and third in the long jump (6 points).
The long jump bronze medal was especially crucial for the team performance because senior long jumper Andriene Rose had gone down with an injury right before Leaks was scheduled to jump.
"Seeing her get hurt made me want it more," Leaks said. "It made me want to jump for her and me."
Leaks was just a part of a standout freshman class for Delaware. Rookie sprinter Halima Scott was arguably the top Blue Hen performer, taking gold in the 200-meter dash (23.99 seconds) and silver in the 400-meter dash (54.08 seconds), and running the anchor leg on the 4x100 relay team that won silver (45.93 seconds). Three of the four members of the 4x100 team were freshmen: Scott, Leaks and Danielle Rochester. Ruby Mullen took fifth place in the triple jump (11.89 meters) and Alyssa Armor ran a leg of the 4x400 that took home bronze (3:43.29).
"The freshmen class, we had a lot more depth in that class than we've had in previous years," Wendy McFarlane-Smith, the 2019 CAA Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year, said. "It's really that energy that we established in the beginning of the season and rallying off of that. They gravitated towards that positivity, and working hard, and holding each other accountable at practices."
The positivity, accountability and work ethic manifested at the championships in two ways: 1) the Blue Hens often had multiple athletes competing for scoring positions in each event, and 2) the Blue Hens made a commitment to support their teammates by loudly cheering them on at every event.
That second part may not seem like much, but in a sport decided my mere inches and seconds, that psychological boost in the heat of competition can prove to be the difference.
"Oh, it's huge," senior captain Carlyn McGrath, a heptathlete and hurdler, said of the support from her teammates. "It gives you that extra little motivation to push yourself further. You know you're working not only for yourself, but for your teammates and for the huge common goal."
McGrath took bronze in the heptathlon, with teammate Sofia Janotti following in fourth. She also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.41 seconds), right behind teammate Olivia Goncerz (3rd – 14.28).
The energy and spirit carried from the field events to the track. Lipnicky, the champion javelin thrower, described it as a "sea of blue around the track." The blue sea was there to see Jeanette Bendolph use an incredible kick to win the 800-meter dash in a meet-record 2:08.69.
"I've never seen somebody run a faster last 200,"Â Lipnicky said.
The effect of strong team support pushing everybody to their maximum level of performance was amplified by the sheer numbers Delaware had in scoring position. Three Blue Hens scored in the 5,000-meter run while four Blue Hens finished in second through fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
"One of the things I always think is very important is depth," McFarlane-Smith said. "That really paid off for us this year…Most of our steeplechasers didn't come in here as steeplechasers. We put them where we feel they will be the strongest for the championship."
This was the fifth total conference championship for Delaware women's track & field, and the first since 2014. The coaches and athletes believe that this is just the beginning of a winning era for the Blue Hens, starting with cross country in the fall of 2019.
"I want them to continue to work towards those championships," McGrath, who ended her career as a conference champion, said. "I want them to build that team culture that we're there for championships."
"The main thing is we have to keep our energy," Leaks, the standout freshman, said. "People know that we are capable of winning, so now we are the target and people want to beat us."
"Winning breeds winning," McFarlane-Smith said. "That's the expectation. I always say the end of the season is the beginning. We can win, but it's not really how we get there, it's how we stay there."
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The Blue Hens were not the favorites entering the Championships at Elon in early May; if you projected the results of the events based on marks from throughout the season, Towson would have taken home the team title.
But the Blue Hens never wavered despite not being the favorites. A spirited, total team effort gave Delaware 174 team points, well clear of Towson's 160.66. Delaware had 27 different student-athletes contribute to the point total (several of them with personal best marks) in 18 different events, claiming 16 medals (3 gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze).
It all started with senior javelin thrower Alexis Lipnicky, who in a team meeting the night before the meet started, informed her coaches and teammates that she would not be returning without a championship ring on her finger.
Going into the sixth and final round of throws, Lipnicky sat in fourth place. On her last throw, her last chance at glory, she heaved the javelin 43.62 meters (143'1"), literally one centimeter further than second place. She had given the Blue Hens an early lead after the first scored event of the weekend, and that winning energy immediately spread to the rest of the squad.
"Okay this sounds crazy but in my head -- I didn't want to jinx anything – from the time that Alexis won the javelin, just the energy we had, I was like 'we're going to do this,'" freshman Roshelle Leaks said of the Blue Hens' championship mindset.
Leaks wasn't projected to score in any of the three events in which she competed, but earned points in all three: fifth place in the 100-meter dash (4 points), sixth in the 200-meter dash (3 points), and third in the long jump (6 points).
The long jump bronze medal was especially crucial for the team performance because senior long jumper Andriene Rose had gone down with an injury right before Leaks was scheduled to jump.
"Seeing her get hurt made me want it more," Leaks said. "It made me want to jump for her and me."
Leaks was just a part of a standout freshman class for Delaware. Rookie sprinter Halima Scott was arguably the top Blue Hen performer, taking gold in the 200-meter dash (23.99 seconds) and silver in the 400-meter dash (54.08 seconds), and running the anchor leg on the 4x100 relay team that won silver (45.93 seconds). Three of the four members of the 4x100 team were freshmen: Scott, Leaks and Danielle Rochester. Ruby Mullen took fifth place in the triple jump (11.89 meters) and Alyssa Armor ran a leg of the 4x400 that took home bronze (3:43.29).
"The freshmen class, we had a lot more depth in that class than we've had in previous years," Wendy McFarlane-Smith, the 2019 CAA Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year, said. "It's really that energy that we established in the beginning of the season and rallying off of that. They gravitated towards that positivity, and working hard, and holding each other accountable at practices."
The positivity, accountability and work ethic manifested at the championships in two ways: 1) the Blue Hens often had multiple athletes competing for scoring positions in each event, and 2) the Blue Hens made a commitment to support their teammates by loudly cheering them on at every event.
That second part may not seem like much, but in a sport decided my mere inches and seconds, that psychological boost in the heat of competition can prove to be the difference.
"Oh, it's huge," senior captain Carlyn McGrath, a heptathlete and hurdler, said of the support from her teammates. "It gives you that extra little motivation to push yourself further. You know you're working not only for yourself, but for your teammates and for the huge common goal."
McGrath took bronze in the heptathlon, with teammate Sofia Janotti following in fourth. She also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.41 seconds), right behind teammate Olivia Goncerz (3rd – 14.28).
The energy and spirit carried from the field events to the track. Lipnicky, the champion javelin thrower, described it as a "sea of blue around the track." The blue sea was there to see Jeanette Bendolph use an incredible kick to win the 800-meter dash in a meet-record 2:08.69.
"I've never seen somebody run a faster last 200,"Â Lipnicky said.
The effect of strong team support pushing everybody to their maximum level of performance was amplified by the sheer numbers Delaware had in scoring position. Three Blue Hens scored in the 5,000-meter run while four Blue Hens finished in second through fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
"One of the things I always think is very important is depth," McFarlane-Smith said. "That really paid off for us this year…Most of our steeplechasers didn't come in here as steeplechasers. We put them where we feel they will be the strongest for the championship."
This was the fifth total conference championship for Delaware women's track & field, and the first since 2014. The coaches and athletes believe that this is just the beginning of a winning era for the Blue Hens, starting with cross country in the fall of 2019.
"I want them to continue to work towards those championships," McGrath, who ended her career as a conference champion, said. "I want them to build that team culture that we're there for championships."
"The main thing is we have to keep our energy," Leaks, the standout freshman, said. "People know that we are capable of winning, so now we are the target and people want to beat us."
"Winning breeds winning," McFarlane-Smith said. "That's the expectation. I always say the end of the season is the beginning. We can win, but it's not really how we get there, it's how we stay there."
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Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multis
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Javelin
/ Track & Field
Multis
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Sprints
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