After a seven-week break, Tulane track and field is ready for its next contest of the indoor season, set to be held at Samford University. This will be the second stop on the Green Wave’s 2018-19 season following its exciting debut at the Birmingham-Southern College Indoor Icebreaker back in November.

Repeating the team’s dominant performance at the BSC Icebreaker will prove to be quite the challenge. The Green Wave won five events and compiled 19 top-five finishes en route to a 58-point margin team victory. The team even set five new top-10 program records.

The Green Wave clearly ignited the track in Birmingham, Alabama, with numerous athletes securing top finishes in their respective races. Senior McKenzie Melius took the mile race with a time of 5 minutes, 8.25 seconds, beating out her second place competition by a one second margin. Freshman Aldrianna Dupree also found success at the Icebreaker, winning the 60-meter dash final in stunning fashion. With this finish, Dupree tied the fourth-fastest time in program history in one of her first few collegiate races.

Tulane found success yet again through the 400, as freshman Tahja Mitchell skimmed past her competitor by a significantly small margin. These five-hundredths of a second, however, brought Mitchell a first place victory in the race, with teammate Maya Harewood, a junior, finishing in third. Senior Jessica Duckett took the 600 hurdles by storm, finishing second with a time of 0:8.45, and her counterpart, junior Brandi Hughes, secured the third place spot by completing the race with a time of 0:8.58. Within the 200, Tulane dominated the top five in securing places in second, third, fourth and fifth, all of which contributed to the Green Wave’s total score.

On the field, two members of the track and field team found major success. Senior Rebekah Markel obtained 10 points for the Wave by clearing 4.00 meters in the pole vault, a feat that secured a first place victory. Freshman Nastja Modic came in second with a 3.85 meter pole vault performance, truly making a statement in her first collegiate meet.

With these recent triumphs, Tulane will be riding high tide coming into the Samford Invitational, looking yet again to pounce on its competitors. The competition will be held Jan. 18-19 in Birmingham.