These are the words Rensselaer women’s track & field Head Coach Colin Tory used to describe the nine girls who combined to score 77 points and place a remarkable fourth at the New York State Championship meet this weekend, February 25 and 26. RPI finished well behind champion SUNY Geneseo and runner-up Ithaca, but lost third to RIT by just 1.5 points and beat out fifth place St. Lawrence by two points.

“The way they performed was impressive,” Tory, now in his fourth season as the women’s head coach, said, “It was a pleasant surprise for me, they exceeded expectations.”

While Rensselaer might lack the numbers, what they certainly don’t lack is ability, as six of the nine Engineers who participated in the meet managed to score points. Sophomore Jen Dias led Rensselaer placing first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.59, beating out freshman teammate Marion Albert, who was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week, by just under a second. Dias, who was named Liberty League Track Performer of the Week, also nabbed second in the 200-meter race and helped the 4x200 relay squad of Albert, Alysia Evanitsky, and Carol Scalice set a school record time of 1:46.44 en route to a major Engineer victory.

The 4x200 relay was the last event of the first day and really set the tone, not just for the women, but for the men heading into day two. RPI also won the 4x800 relay with the combination of Becky Lock, Albert, Evanitsky, and Dias in the time of 4:02.90. “[The 4x200 relay win] was a motivating factor for both the women’s and the men’s teams,” Tory said. “The relays were the highlights of the meet for us as a team.”

Tory also pointed to Dias and Albert’s one-two showing in the 400-meter dash as another huge showing for the understaffed Engineers. “Finishing one and two in any meet is tough, but doing it in the state meet is really something to be proud of,” Tory said. “The way the entire team really stepped it up impressed me.”

Rensselaer had several other noteworthy performances, including Scalice’s NCAA Provisional qualifying jump of 17 feet 9.25 inches in the long jump, and Evanitsky’s school record time of 78.67 seconds in the 500-meter race. Both Scalice and Evanitsky finished second in their events. Other scorers included Lock, who took third behind Evanitsky in the 500-meter and eighth in the 55-meter hurdles, and Sue Madden, who finished second in the shot put with a toss of 12.42 meters.

With such a small squad attending the event, the likelihood of a state title was next to impossible for the Engineers. So, Tory tried to use the meet as a last attempt to qualify individuals for the ECAC meet this weekend in Canton, N.Y., and the NCAA national meet in Bloomington, Ind., on March 11 and 12.

“We try and focus more on personal best at this meet,” Evanitsky, a senior co-captain, said. “While the guys are busy counting points, we are looking to excel in a few events.

Tory emphasized the women are still very much a team; in fact its smaller size may even make it more of a team then the men’s. However, he admitted there is a certain degree of difficulty when trying to balance team goals with individual goals at times, given the team’s size restraints.

“We always try to succeed as a team,” Tory said. “But we have to try and balance what is best for the team and the individual athlete.”

The solid finish gives the women’s track & field team some extra confidence heading into the much anticipated spring campaign. The outdoor season adds several events and some more depth for the Engineers. Several players from other sports join the team outdoors, in events such as 400-meter hurdles, javelin, and steeplechase.

The Engineers, who lost a large senior class last year, is also looking to attract some new young talent to join the strong core of capable freshmen and sophomores already in Troy.