2008 Woodie Awards
Elite athletes try spring track
Adam Miller, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Sports
You would have to be roommates with the top distance runner on the Massachusetts womens' track and field team to consider joining the team in your last semester of college because you thought it would be funny.
Seniors Kate Mills and Pam Rosanio were exactly in that situation this year. Mills and Rosanio have been roommates with seniors Christina DeRosa and Jennifer Curtin since freshman year. At the beginning of this year, they joked about what it would be like to join the track and field team after their last season with the UMass women's basketball team.
When March came around, Curtin and DeRosa turned the joke into a reality. She asked UMass coach Julie LaFreniere about having her roommates and senior Alisha Tatham on the team.
"She was all for it," Rosanio said.
Rosanio joined the team as a mid-distance runner while Mills joined as a javelin thrower. Tatham chose sprinting. The transition for them has been difficult given that they have no experience in track and field events, even as high school students. Some of the transition has been simply appreciating the difficulty of the event.
"[Javelin throwing] is more difficult than I thought it would be," Mills said. "I thought I could throw it like a baseball."
She is still on track to reach a personal accomplishment, despite her struggling with the technique of the throw. When Mills first started, she never thought she could throw 100 feet (30.48 meters) on a single throw.
Mills started out the season throwing 25.54 meters at the Connecticut Invitational on April 5. Since then, UMass assistant coach Mark Gottdenker has worked with Mills on running faster before the throw to get more distance.
On April 19, the advice paid off as she completed the Larry Ellis Invitational with 29.74 meters, less than a meter away from her preseason goal.
"Mark just told me to be as patient as possible," Mills said.
Rosanio's personal feat came at the UMass Invitational on April 12 at the 800-meter run. Rosanio led for most of the race before getting passed. She caught up and won the third heat of the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 29.18 seconds) and finished 30th overall.
Seniors Kate Mills and Pam Rosanio were exactly in that situation this year. Mills and Rosanio have been roommates with seniors Christina DeRosa and Jennifer Curtin since freshman year. At the beginning of this year, they joked about what it would be like to join the track and field team after their last season with the UMass women's basketball team.
When March came around, Curtin and DeRosa turned the joke into a reality. She asked UMass coach Julie LaFreniere about having her roommates and senior Alisha Tatham on the team.
"She was all for it," Rosanio said.
Rosanio joined the team as a mid-distance runner while Mills joined as a javelin thrower. Tatham chose sprinting. The transition for them has been difficult given that they have no experience in track and field events, even as high school students. Some of the transition has been simply appreciating the difficulty of the event.
"[Javelin throwing] is more difficult than I thought it would be," Mills said. "I thought I could throw it like a baseball."
She is still on track to reach a personal accomplishment, despite her struggling with the technique of the throw. When Mills first started, she never thought she could throw 100 feet (30.48 meters) on a single throw.
Mills started out the season throwing 25.54 meters at the Connecticut Invitational on April 5. Since then, UMass assistant coach Mark Gottdenker has worked with Mills on running faster before the throw to get more distance.
On April 19, the advice paid off as she completed the Larry Ellis Invitational with 29.74 meters, less than a meter away from her preseason goal.
"Mark just told me to be as patient as possible," Mills said.
Rosanio's personal feat came at the UMass Invitational on April 12 at the 800-meter run. Rosanio led for most of the race before getting passed. She caught up and won the third heat of the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 29.18 seconds) and finished 30th overall.
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