Qualifying for any kind of championship is no easy task, but for members of the women’s indoor track team, it comes easily.

At the Cornell Relays on Saturday, not only did 10 members of the South Hill squad earn qualifying marks for the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championships in February, but also four Bombers qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in March.

Earning the qualifying mark is an accomplishment in itself, but qualifying in the first meet of the season gives athletes a new goal — qualifying for nationals — to focus on for the rest of the season.

“It is definitely a relief to have already qualified for ECACs this early in the season,” sophomore Emma Dewart said. “I feel as though I will be able to really focus on my technique and doing what it takes to improve in my events, trying to qualify for nationals.”

Dewart not only qualified for ECACs in the high jump and 60-meter hurdles, but she also narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships, which will be held at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. One centimeter is what kept her from earning the trip to nationals, as she jumped to a height of 1.65 meters.

Earning qualifying marks early on in the track season takes an enormous amount of pressure off of each athlete. Junior Kristen DeStefano, who qualified for ECACs in the pole vault, said that mark will help her determine what she needs to do the rest of the season.

“It was nice to clear above the ECAC qualifier on the first meet, but that wasn’t my main focus going into the meet,” DeStefano said. “With the first meet of the season, I was looking to get an idea of where I was with my jump and find out what I need to improve on to compete at a higher level so I can hit qualifier marks. It was just an added perk to be able to hit ECAC on my first shot.”

Junior Marcia McCord picked up where she left off last season, breaking her own school record in the 300-meter dash. Running 40.83 seconds, she nearly shaved a second off of her previous record (41.73 seconds), which was set at the same meet one year ago.

McCord was one of three athletes the Blue and Gold sent to nationals last season.

“[This race] means that things are finally coming together for me,” she said. “My technique definitely isn’t perfect, but I’ve come a long way, so it’s gratifying to see my progression.”

The All-American now owns six school records for indoor track — four for outdoor track — and is a member of three relay records at Ithaca College. McCord also placed 12th in the long jump Saturday, earning a qualifying mark with her 4.98 meter leap for the NYSCTC meet. By setting the bar high,

McCord said it’s a challenge to constantly push to outdo herself.

“It feels like war,” McCord said. “You know how people say that at times you’re your own worst enemy? In this case, that’s how I feel. I’m constantly battling my past self and trying to improve.”

Just two weeks after the women’s cross country team made its 10th straight appearance at nationals, several of the cross country runners took to the track, trying to carry over the success they had to the indoor oval. Freshman Jenn Randall, the Empire 8 Rookie and Runner of the Year, qualified for ECACs in the 3000-meter run.

Randall said she is glad to have qualified but realizes her work for the season is not over yet.

“It did take some pressure off [qualifying], but irregardless, I still need to keep working hard because we still have a long season to go.”

The Bombers also had five runners finish in the top 10 in the 5,000-meter run. Leading the way for the Bombers’ was senior Melanie McCormick, who finished second overall, running 18:49. Behind McCormick were sophomore Heidi Baumbach, who placed fourth with 18:57 and senior Amanda Boccio, who placed sixth with 19:23.  

Though the team will not compete again until Jan. 16 at Rochester Institute of Technology, the Blue and Gold will work during winter break to continue their success in the 2009 season.

DeStefano said with the ECAC qualifying mark behind her, she is focused more on her technique than anything else.

“I try to approach the season focusing on how to improve my swing and invert — not so much what meets I can qualify for,” she said. “If you focus on the numbers too much it becomes a daunting task to get there, and you start to lose track of the things you need to work on to actually get there.”