Women’s track surges in past two meets

The women’s track team broke two 30-year-old records.

The talent of the women’s track and field team was on full display at the Florida Relays and the Patriot Open Invitational.

In an event that featured national competition, freshman Jenna Dubrow broke a 30-year-old school record for the 1,500-meter run at the Florida Relays, with a time of four minutes, 36.17 seconds on April 6 at the University of Florida. The next day, freshman Margo Britton placed second in the women’s shot put event, breaking a separate 30-year-old record with a mark of 15.06 meters.

Later in the week, Britton was named the Atlantic Ten Conference Rookie of the Week for her efforts at the Florida Relays. She lived up to her title at the Patriot Open Invitational, earning a first place finish in the discus throw, besting out 21 other competing athletes, on Saturday, April 14, at George Mason University. Britton’s performance broke yet another school record with her 156-foot 10.28-inch mark.

Coach Eric Mobley said he was excited with how the team is progressing, and the way Dubrow and Britton exemplify just how well the program is succeeding as a whole.

“It’s kind of rare to see freshmen succeed like that. You want them to come in and just take off, but you don’t see it too often,” Mobley said.

Although Dubrow said she had some worries about her first year of college, they’ve mostly been eliminated since cross-country season ended. The outdoor track and field season has been different for her.

“Now, I’m racing at a high level, but I’m expecting a lot more of myself,” Dubrow said. “Even though I’m at this point, I expect a lot more, and I want to be racing a lot faster for things like conference meets.”

The Owls broke another school record at the Florida Relays as sophomore Ambrosia Iwugo, freshman Michelle Davis Timothy, junior Isatta Kenneh and junior Tonney Smith competed in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay, earning a season-best time of 46.95 seconds. Last weekend at the Patriot Open Invitational, sophomore Taylor Goldsworthy smashed a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with her time of 11:41.44, good enough for third place overall in the event.

Dubrow hopes that the team’s recent success can serve as a stepping stone toward winning the conference by continuing their effort to “race with heart.”

“We can’t just go out there and race,” Dubrow said. “We need to be really competitive and believe that we can win. All kidding aside, we have the talent to do that.”

Avery Maehrer can be reached at avery.maehrer@temple.edu.