By Jared Shafran

The women’s indoor track and field team took third place in its final home meet of the season Friday. Led by senior co-captain Tramaine Shaw, the Huskies battled hard in taking third.

Shaw won the 55-meter hurdles, the long jump and ran on the winning 4×400 relay team. This effort was enough to earn her the Northeastern News’ Player of the Week honors.

Even though it is early in the season, Shaw said she’s excited about the potential of the team to contend for the top spot in the conference.

“I am looking forward to continuing our legacy of excellence,” Shaw said. “We have been able to consistently win [in] conference [play].”

Shaw is also looking forward to a different kind of season where she can be a mentor to younger players.

“We have such a young squad and I am looking to see how they develop,” Shaw said.

Besides wanting to improve the rest of the team, Shaw is also looking forward to bettering herself.

“I want to be stronger than I have been in the past,” Shaw said.

There is a lot of traveling on the track team’s schedule due to meets that are spread out across the country, including trips to New Hampshire, Florida and even Arkansas.

“The trips are really fun,” Shaw said. “They are like mini vacations with your team, which are free. My freshman year was really overwhelming but you get used to it.”

When she isn’t leaping over hurdles, Shaw is pursuing a major in psychology with a minor in business. With a year left of school and no more track practices, Shaw is looking forward to some free time she hasn’t had much of in the past four years.

Next year, Shaw will be volunteering with a local high school’s track team. She is also looking forward to her final co-op and her last semester. Upon graduation, Shaw plans to attend graduate school, and said she has appreciated the opportunities Northeastern has given her.

“The track team is very flexible and they have practice start at 5 p.m. in order to accommodate the co-op students,” Shaw said.

When making plans for college, Shaw, a New Jersey resident, opted not to attend Rutgers. She heard about Northeastern through a friend in high school who was applying here, and decided to check it out. After visiting, she fell in love with the campus and the city of Boston.

As far as her chances this season, Shaw is confident that her teammates have it in them to make it far.

“We consistently have taken a relay team to regionals and usually have some individuals that make it all the way to nationals,” Shaw said.

The most important goal Shaw is working toward this season is to help prepare the program for more successful years in the future.

“We have a new group and they still are looking to get their footing,” Shaw said. “We still have a couple seniors and we are looking to continue what we have started.”