Boston College Athletics
All-Around Success Paces Women's Track at NCAA East Prelims
May 23, 2019 | Women's Track & Field, #ForBoston Files
The team will be represented as a true "track and field" program this week
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Boston College has always been known as a women's distance running program. Its ability to develop distance stars created a lineage of NCAA All-Americans and it's a legacy that current Eagles are more than happy to continue carrying. But when the Eagles women's team arrives at the NCAA East Preliminary round this week for the 2019 edition, they will do so as a complete track & field program.
Paige Duca and Emeline Delanis will compete as runners in the 1,500m and 10,000m run, respectively, and will be joined by Amanda Sinkewicz, the newly-minted school record holder in the javelin.
"With Paige and Emeline, we had the opportunity to travel to Stanford at the end of March," head coach Randy Thomas said. "That's where they attained their qualifying standard. Amanda has been coming on strong the second half of the season, and she qualified at the ACC Championships two weekends ago while setting a new school record in the javelin."
This year marks Duca's second consecutive trip to the NCAA event after she nearly qualified for nationals in the 3,000m steeplechase last year. This is the next step in her development as a runner that began when she arrived at BC as a freshman in the fall of 2015.
"Paige came to BC as a freshman and was already just under five minutes," Thomas said. "She's developed into one of our best milers in both the indoor and outdoor season, and she will be back next year as a graduate student."
"I ran the 1,500 in high school and was recruited to run it at BC," Duca said. "I had the opportunity to compete at the mile during indoor season, but I chose to run the steeplechase in outdoor last year. After qualifying for the NCAA Regional meet and finishing just outside the Top 12, I'm just excited to run the 1,500 (at the East Regional)."
This year, she continued that trajectory, finishing the year as one of the best runners in the ACC. She finished eighth in the ACC meet after placing seventh in the 3,000m during the Distance Carnival at the Penn Relays. It's an arc that's battled through some injuries along the way, and though she walked at graduation this past week, the senior still has a year left thanks to redshirt seasons that began with a freshman injury.
"I feel like cross country season gives me a great base for the other seasons," Duca said. "I'm more of a miler, but I get more endurance through the workouts. This year, I redshirted my indoor season because I'll be able to come back next year for a fifth year. I had a stress fracture in cross country as a freshman, which was really upsetting, but it's given me new perspective because I can now take advantage of opportunities. You have to enjoy every shot at being healthy."
It's a very different path from Delanis, who transferred into BC this year after beginning her career at Cal Baptist. The junior finished ninth at the Ocean State Invitational and followed it up with an 11th place in the 5,000m at the Virginia Challenge. Selected to run the 10K at the NCAA East Regional, she will join a tight-packed field capable of making noise in a one-heat race for a national bid.
"Emeline transferred from Cal Baptist," Thomas said. "So we haven't been able to watch her develop, necessarily, over four years.
Sinkewicz rounds out the field after breaking the BC program record in the javelin. Hers is arguably the most unique story in the bunch after beginning her career as a sprinter for the BC roster. A multi-sport athlete in high school, she eventually made the seamless transition from running to throwing, even though her original intent was to remain solely a shot putter.
"I played ice hockey and volleyball and swam in the summer while doing track," Sinkewicz sasid. "It became hard for me to choose a single sport (for college), but since I wanted to major in nursing, I knew doing a team sport would make that goal more difficult. So I chose an individual sport and enrolled as a track athlete, but I started as a sprinter before my coaches moved me to become more of a thrower. It was a move that I hated at first, but I eventually wound up loving it. That led to me getting better at the javelin over time and really climbing that ladder (of the discipline)."
Like Duca, Sinkewicz had to battle the injury bug to qualify for the national meet. She suffered a stress fracture and a knee injury last season that rooted a seedling of self-doubt in her mind during recovery. But a gradual build up led to a breakout performance at the Skyhawk Invitational in BC's last meet before the conference championship.
"Amanda was a state champion in Vermont," Thomas said. "But she's also battled some back and knee injuries. So she is only throwing right now from a six step approach as opposed to a full approach. That's using only half of the runway because right now, it's difficult for her to do the crossover step with her knees not quite at 100%. And she's still been able to set the school record while progressing as a thrower."
"I couldn't get up to my personal best until that (Skyhawk Invitational)," she said. "That's kind of a last chance qualifying meet, and I entered seeded in first place. I went in relaxed and focused, but the weather turned out so poorly that it frustrated me. Then my last throw just took off and broke my personal best. I was so emotional about it that I yelled afterwards. It was this huge sigh of relief getting out of my head.
It laid the foundation of an underdog story at the ACC meet. Sinkewicz completed a throw of 145 feet that broke the BC program record, and it sent her through to the finals where she promptly broke it again, earning a trip to a flight in Jacksonville.
For the Eagles, the trip to Florida now represents something bigger. Three athletes create a well-rounded approach for a program that often identifies with an uphill struggle against its ACC sorority. Boston College has long been an underdog story, but it's not one without any success. It's created an edge, one the Eagles are more than happy to take with them against some of the nation's best athletes.
"Each of these kids have worked very hard," Thomas said. "They are great kids who are dedicated to being the best that they can be. Once you get to the ACC and NCAA and compete at that level, if you do what you did to qualify for that meet, you've had one heck of a meet. You don't want to be on the starting line of a competition worrying about the other kids and what got them there. You can only control your own approach and if you compete with confidence, you'll be fine."
"Everyone at the regional is going to be fast," Duca said. "Only 48 qualifiers make it into the East Regional, and I recognize some of the names from other races. I'll be matched up against some of my ACC competitors, which is great because I already know what they're capable of doing. I know that I have to be ready to run at my best, and I'm just hoping to approach the preliminary heat with the mindset that I can do this. It's going to come down to the last lap to make it to the finals, and after that, it's going to be whoever is the strongest runners for nationals."
"I start sideways, which a lot of people start forward and run before turning sideways in the javelin," Sinkewicz said. "I just take six steps and throw (the javelin pole). Learning a full throw will eventually make it more effective, but that's something where I can keep developing. To be in this meet, around all of these great athletes, watching this competition, I can't wait to see what I can do."
At the end of the day, though, this is about the program taking another step into the future. What happens this week will pave the road for others, and it marks another achievement for Boston College track and field. There is still road to go, but anything that opens the light on the Eagles is something that the runners for the Maroon and Gold can take with them when they all return next season.
"I hope that this shows that BC is a track team that's growing within the ACC," Sinkewicz said. "Our goal is to keep growing, especially with our coaches. BC is known for our phenomenal distance group, but we can be a full, all-around team with field events and sprints. I want this to bring more throwers to BC, especially if we have all of this opportunity ahead of us."
"It's great just to get more people down to regionals," Duca said. "It can inspire anyone else on our team that we can get more people to qualify. That will help for next year and for future years. It gets everyone excited to compete at this level because there are so many great competitors (on this team)."
"These kids are advancing through to the NCAA, and others will be able to see that," Thomas said. "Everyone is a talented student-athlete, and you have to be to get into Boston College. They bring a lot of talent to this table and make the necessary sacrifices that non-athletes don't necessarily have to make. They're consistent in their approach to their studies and classwork, and that leads to a consistent approach to their training. They can go from Point A to Point B but understand it's not always a set line - and dealing with those setbacks make everyone better. They can do it, as long as they stay dedicated to it, and that's all we can ever ask of them."
Paige Duca and Emeline Delanis will compete as runners in the 1,500m and 10,000m run, respectively, and will be joined by Amanda Sinkewicz, the newly-minted school record holder in the javelin.
"With Paige and Emeline, we had the opportunity to travel to Stanford at the end of March," head coach Randy Thomas said. "That's where they attained their qualifying standard. Amanda has been coming on strong the second half of the season, and she qualified at the ACC Championships two weekends ago while setting a new school record in the javelin."
This year marks Duca's second consecutive trip to the NCAA event after she nearly qualified for nationals in the 3,000m steeplechase last year. This is the next step in her development as a runner that began when she arrived at BC as a freshman in the fall of 2015.
"Paige came to BC as a freshman and was already just under five minutes," Thomas said. "She's developed into one of our best milers in both the indoor and outdoor season, and she will be back next year as a graduate student."
"I ran the 1,500 in high school and was recruited to run it at BC," Duca said. "I had the opportunity to compete at the mile during indoor season, but I chose to run the steeplechase in outdoor last year. After qualifying for the NCAA Regional meet and finishing just outside the Top 12, I'm just excited to run the 1,500 (at the East Regional)."
This year, she continued that trajectory, finishing the year as one of the best runners in the ACC. She finished eighth in the ACC meet after placing seventh in the 3,000m during the Distance Carnival at the Penn Relays. It's an arc that's battled through some injuries along the way, and though she walked at graduation this past week, the senior still has a year left thanks to redshirt seasons that began with a freshman injury.
"I feel like cross country season gives me a great base for the other seasons," Duca said. "I'm more of a miler, but I get more endurance through the workouts. This year, I redshirted my indoor season because I'll be able to come back next year for a fifth year. I had a stress fracture in cross country as a freshman, which was really upsetting, but it's given me new perspective because I can now take advantage of opportunities. You have to enjoy every shot at being healthy."
It's a very different path from Delanis, who transferred into BC this year after beginning her career at Cal Baptist. The junior finished ninth at the Ocean State Invitational and followed it up with an 11th place in the 5,000m at the Virginia Challenge. Selected to run the 10K at the NCAA East Regional, she will join a tight-packed field capable of making noise in a one-heat race for a national bid.
"Emeline transferred from Cal Baptist," Thomas said. "So we haven't been able to watch her develop, necessarily, over four years.
Sinkewicz rounds out the field after breaking the BC program record in the javelin. Hers is arguably the most unique story in the bunch after beginning her career as a sprinter for the BC roster. A multi-sport athlete in high school, she eventually made the seamless transition from running to throwing, even though her original intent was to remain solely a shot putter.
"I played ice hockey and volleyball and swam in the summer while doing track," Sinkewicz sasid. "It became hard for me to choose a single sport (for college), but since I wanted to major in nursing, I knew doing a team sport would make that goal more difficult. So I chose an individual sport and enrolled as a track athlete, but I started as a sprinter before my coaches moved me to become more of a thrower. It was a move that I hated at first, but I eventually wound up loving it. That led to me getting better at the javelin over time and really climbing that ladder (of the discipline)."
Like Duca, Sinkewicz had to battle the injury bug to qualify for the national meet. She suffered a stress fracture and a knee injury last season that rooted a seedling of self-doubt in her mind during recovery. But a gradual build up led to a breakout performance at the Skyhawk Invitational in BC's last meet before the conference championship.
"Amanda was a state champion in Vermont," Thomas said. "But she's also battled some back and knee injuries. So she is only throwing right now from a six step approach as opposed to a full approach. That's using only half of the runway because right now, it's difficult for her to do the crossover step with her knees not quite at 100%. And she's still been able to set the school record while progressing as a thrower."
"I couldn't get up to my personal best until that (Skyhawk Invitational)," she said. "That's kind of a last chance qualifying meet, and I entered seeded in first place. I went in relaxed and focused, but the weather turned out so poorly that it frustrated me. Then my last throw just took off and broke my personal best. I was so emotional about it that I yelled afterwards. It was this huge sigh of relief getting out of my head.
It laid the foundation of an underdog story at the ACC meet. Sinkewicz completed a throw of 145 feet that broke the BC program record, and it sent her through to the finals where she promptly broke it again, earning a trip to a flight in Jacksonville.
For the Eagles, the trip to Florida now represents something bigger. Three athletes create a well-rounded approach for a program that often identifies with an uphill struggle against its ACC sorority. Boston College has long been an underdog story, but it's not one without any success. It's created an edge, one the Eagles are more than happy to take with them against some of the nation's best athletes.
"Each of these kids have worked very hard," Thomas said. "They are great kids who are dedicated to being the best that they can be. Once you get to the ACC and NCAA and compete at that level, if you do what you did to qualify for that meet, you've had one heck of a meet. You don't want to be on the starting line of a competition worrying about the other kids and what got them there. You can only control your own approach and if you compete with confidence, you'll be fine."
"Everyone at the regional is going to be fast," Duca said. "Only 48 qualifiers make it into the East Regional, and I recognize some of the names from other races. I'll be matched up against some of my ACC competitors, which is great because I already know what they're capable of doing. I know that I have to be ready to run at my best, and I'm just hoping to approach the preliminary heat with the mindset that I can do this. It's going to come down to the last lap to make it to the finals, and after that, it's going to be whoever is the strongest runners for nationals."
"I start sideways, which a lot of people start forward and run before turning sideways in the javelin," Sinkewicz said. "I just take six steps and throw (the javelin pole). Learning a full throw will eventually make it more effective, but that's something where I can keep developing. To be in this meet, around all of these great athletes, watching this competition, I can't wait to see what I can do."
At the end of the day, though, this is about the program taking another step into the future. What happens this week will pave the road for others, and it marks another achievement for Boston College track and field. There is still road to go, but anything that opens the light on the Eagles is something that the runners for the Maroon and Gold can take with them when they all return next season.
"I hope that this shows that BC is a track team that's growing within the ACC," Sinkewicz said. "Our goal is to keep growing, especially with our coaches. BC is known for our phenomenal distance group, but we can be a full, all-around team with field events and sprints. I want this to bring more throwers to BC, especially if we have all of this opportunity ahead of us."
"It's great just to get more people down to regionals," Duca said. "It can inspire anyone else on our team that we can get more people to qualify. That will help for next year and for future years. It gets everyone excited to compete at this level because there are so many great competitors (on this team)."
"These kids are advancing through to the NCAA, and others will be able to see that," Thomas said. "Everyone is a talented student-athlete, and you have to be to get into Boston College. They bring a lot of talent to this table and make the necessary sacrifices that non-athletes don't necessarily have to make. They're consistent in their approach to their studies and classwork, and that leads to a consistent approach to their training. They can go from Point A to Point B but understand it's not always a set line - and dealing with those setbacks make everyone better. They can do it, as long as they stay dedicated to it, and that's all we can ever ask of them."
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Throws
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