STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - On Friday night, the No. 13 Messiah women's track and field team sent a small handful of Falcons to the Fasttrack National Invite hosted at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. While Messiah only had three Falcons compete in individual events and a 4x400 Meter Relay team in action, both
Ellissa Slader and
Leanne Weaver lowered their program records in the 400 Meter and Mile, respectively.
Ellissa Slader competed in the 400 Meter, finishing the event in ninth place with a time of 58.35. Slader's time of 58.35 lowered a program record that she previously held from last season (58.51). While Slader finished the event in ninth place, only two of the eight runners in front of her represented a Division III institution. Sophia Smellie (Unattached) won the event, crossing the line with a time of 56.41.
Leanne Weaver was also in action on Friday night, taking second in the mile with a time of 4:57.89. Like Slader, Weaver lowered her previously held program record by a few tenths of a second. Weaver previously set the program mark at the Aromy at the end of January with a time of 4:58.16. Moravian's Carly Danoski won the event on Friday in a time of 4:54.78.
Esther Seeland was the only other Falcon to compete in an individual event on Friday night. Seeland ran in the 800 Meter, winning the event by nearly three and a half seconds in a time of 2:13.53. Columbia's Alex Rodman was the closest competitor, finishing in a time of 2:13.53.
Seeland, Slader, and Weaver joined with
Kathryn Wiederrecht to race in the 4x400 Meter Relay. While offical times have yet to be released, the Falcons rounded the track in an unofficial time of 3:54.0.
The Falcons will be in action tomorrow when they travel to the Susquehanna Open. The action is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
