This week's Throwback Thursday features the 2006-07 women's track and field team.
The indoor season got off to a strong start with sprinters, jumpers and throwers competing at the Fall Classic in Oromocto. Susan Sobey led the Tiger team, posting a time of 7.75 in the 60m and defeating 2006 CIS champion Marie-Andree LeBlanc.This remained one of the fastest times posted in the country for most of the season. She set a personal best at the same meet the previous year. Susan also won the 200m in a time of 26.69. Pentathlete Alicia Dobranowski also had a strong showing, missing her personal best by just 1/100th of a second in the 60m (8.09), producing a 1.60m high jump and a 5.41m long jump and coming second in the 200m with 26.99. High Jumper Dara Gammon opened the season with a strong 1.50m jump, while rookie Anna Cottreau triple jumped 11.07m.
The 2007 year began in New Brunswick in November and the sprinters and jumpers were once again the focus of the meet. Susan Sobey edged Leanne Huck in the 60m by .08 in their first race against each other since the CIS final the previous year. Lauren Grant and Joanna Heathcote opened their season with 8.04 and 8.22 times, respectively. Alicia Dobranowski tied her best 60m with 8.08 and added a 1.64m high jump, her best in two years. Dara Gammon jumped 1.52m to improve on her best high jump performance. Anna Cottreau produced another consistent effort with an 11.03m triple jump.
The Tigers held their first of three meets in 2007 on January 14. The meet was dominated by middle-distance performers with Monique Penney just .2 off her all-time best for the 600m. Caroline McInnes led a pack of Dalhousie 1500m runners with a 4:48.8 performance with Madeline Glover following with her best 1500m run of the year, 5:02.2. The women’s 4x200m team of Sobey, Grant,Heathcote and Huck produced one the top times in the country in their first effort of the season.
A large contingent of Tigers travelled to Montreal for the McGill Team Challenge on January 26-27. Lauren Grant and Joanna Heathcote ran their fastest 60m of the season. Susan Sobey won the B section while Leanne Huck had her highest finish at this meet in the 60m final. Leanne also placed fourth in the 300m final while Joanna made an impressive debut running 43.03 in her first 300m. Becki Reeves had a strong effort in the 1000m, finishing fourth overall while Caroline Schlosser had her best 1500m of the year, running 4:55.92. Alicia Dobranowski set a new Dalhousie record of 9.09 in the 60m hurdle final and had a season best in the long jump. Dara Gammon had her lifetime best in the high jump at 1.55m while Anna Cottreau once again jumped 11.03m in the triple jump.
Monique Penney displayed her speed at the second Dal Track Series meet running a personal best 41.3 in the 300m. Caroline McInnes posted a personal best in the 1000m to set down one of the leading times in the country. Stephanie Bennett ran to a personal best in the 3000m, running under eleven minutes for the first time.
Alicia Dobranowski travelled to Ontario for the Windsor Team Challenge Pentathlon on February 10 and succeeded in scoring well over her previous Dalhousie record with her winning score of 3547. More importantly, she attained the CIS standard and vaulted to a number two position in the CIS rankings.
The final meet of the Dal Track Series resulted in some very impressive results from the sprint group with Leanne Huck producing a season best 7.75 just ahead of Alicia Dobranowski, who improved her best from 8.08 to 7.89 in the heats and to 7.77 in the final – an unprecedented progression for a senior athlete at one meet. Three Dalhousie athletes sat in the CIS top 10 for 60m after the event. Alicia went straight from the 60m final to the high jump where she also set an all-time best of 1.68m. Monique Penney also had a huge breakthrough, running 2.6 seconds faster than her previous best over the 600m, finishing in a time of 1:33.9. Becki Reeves ran her all-time best in the1000m, just narrowly missing the three minute barrier. Caroline McInnes ran to a qualifying time in the 1500m while the 4x200m team improved upon their CIS ranking and the 4x800m team ran to a top five position in Canada. Johanna Hoyt claimed gold in the weight throw with teammate Ana Lees in second.
The AUS Championship featured an all Dal final in the 60m with Leanne Huck edging Susan Sobey by .03 and both athletes running to season best performances. Leanne doubled up to defeat Monique Penney in a close contest over 300m. Monique Penney had one of the fastest winning times in AUS history in the 600m and Caroline McInnes won her first AUS title in the 1000m. The 4x200m team bettered the AUS record for the fifth consecutive year. The 4x800m team also set a meet record, sealing their qualification for the CIS Championships. All told, the Dalhousie women captured all but three events at the AUS Championship.
Alicia Dobranowski had the meet of her life at the CIS Championship. She was seeded fifth and had to take on Olympian Jessica Zelinka and defending champion Jen Cotton. It was clear she was on track with a new personal best and Dal record in her first event, the 60m hurdles. She tied her pentathlon season best in the high jump and followed this up with a new personal best in the shotput. Another strong effort in the long jump put her in second place going into the final event that would determine the medals, the 800m. Jen Cotten, an 800m runner who converted to the pentathlon, set off at a blistering pace, knowing she had to beat Alicia by six seconds to grab the silver. Alicia stuck by her race plan, running strongly through 600m then kicking for home. She surpassed her best 800m by over six seconds to claim the silver.
Susan Sobey rocketed to a 7.65 time in the 60m, bettering her season best by .09 to sit in a tie for second after the heats. Leanne Huck also made it through into the final. Susan ran another great time in the final and was just .03 from a medal position. Monique Penney got boxed in early in the 600m heats and wasnít able to advance to the final. Alicia Dobranowski lowered the Dalhousie 60m hurdles record for the third time this season with her 9.01 effort in the heats. She then went on to lead off the 4x200m relay team with one of the fastest opening legs by a Dal athlete. Huck barreled through her leg in 24.5 to take the lead and Joanna Heathcote and Lauren Grant brought it home in the third all-time fastest performance by Dalhousie to qualify for the final. The womenís 4x800m team ran to their fastest time of the season in a very tough field. The final event of the meet saw Penney, Dobranowski, Rebecca Reeves and Huck run 3:55.1, to finish in the top eight in the 4x400m.