COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The No. 10 Messiah women's track and field team were in action on Saturday at the Frank Colden hosted by Ursinus College. The Falcons claimed three individual events and the 4x400 Meter Relay during a strong day.
Taylor Wiederrecht (400 Meter - 1:01.19) ,
Ellissa Slader (800 Meter - 2:22.80), and
Esther Seeland (Mile - 4:59.91) claimed individual events for the Falcons, while the 4x400 Meter Relay team (4:01.14) won the event by more than 12 seconds.
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Including their four event victories, the Falcons earned a total of 11 top-five finishes, including three runner-up finishes.
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Messiah will be back in action at the Susquehanna Open next Saturday, Feb. 15, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
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On the Track
As mentioned, the Falcons claimed three individual events and the 4x400 meter relay on the women's side on Saturday. All four of their victories came on the track with Messiah dominating the mid-distance and putting together strong performances in a bevy of other events.
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The highlight of the day for the Falcons very well could have been in the mile where
Esther Seeland and
Leanne Weaver took first and second, respectively in the event. Seeland becomes just the second ever women in Messiah program history to break the five-minute barrier with a time of 4:59.91. She is the first to go sub-five on a flat track.
Leanne Weaver closed strong, logging a time of 5:01.36, just three seconds off her program record time (4:58.16) from a week ago. The next closest runner was Swarthmore's Rose Tesxler, who finished in 5:24.42 to take third by more than 23 seconds.
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Other individual victories came from
Taylor Wiederrecht in the 400 meter with a time of 1:01.19. Her winning time was just over a second ahead of Olivia Wojtowicz (St. Joseph's), who finished in second-place with a mark of 1:02.26.
Ellissa Slader claimed the 800 meter, crossing the finish line in 2:22.80, nearly two and a half seconds before Ursinus' Rachel Conhoff finished in second (2:25.20).
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Kathryn Wiederrecht turned in a strong day on Saturday, earning a pair of top-five finishes in the 60 meter and the 60 meter hurdles. Wiederrecht took seconds in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.08 in the finals. She qualified with a mark of 8.10 and lowered her time slightly to finish as the runner-up to Delaware State's T'Keyah Macklin (7.84). Wiederrecht earned a fourth-place finish for Messiah in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 9.54 in the finals.
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Connor Coggins and
Joy Galbraith finished back-to-back in the 3000 meter run, earning fifth and sixth-place finishes. Coggins crossed in 11:19.25, while Galbraith was hot on her heels in a time of 11:20.92.
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Messiah showed extremely well in the relays, The Falcons won the 4x400 meter relay by an astounding 11-plus seconds with a time of 4:01.14. The next closest team was Dickinson, who crossed in 4:12.24. Messiah's 'B' Team took fifth in the event in a time of 4:27.79, ahead of four other school's 'A' team.
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The Falcons finished as the runner-up in the 4x800 meter relay to Dickinson. Messiah crossed the line in 10:07.28 while the Red Devils relay team was just ahead of them, finishing in 10:05.83.
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Messiah's 4x200 meter relay team took sixth in a time of 1:53.56.
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In the Field
Emily Gourley took third in the high jump to lead the Falcons on the day. Grourley cleared both 1.37 meters and 1.42 meters on her first attempt to tie for third. Delaware State's Sierra Sadler won the event by clearing 1.52 meters.
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In the pole vault, Messiah had a pair of top-ten finishers with
Bayley Hess taking fifth with vault of 1.75 meters and America Cervantas clearing 2.60 meters on her third attempt. Stockton's Jeanmarie Harvey won the event with a height of 3.35 meters.
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Lila Goodhile got out of the gates hot in the shot put, earning a mark of 10.59 meters on her first attempt to take seventh place in the event.
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What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action next weekend when they travel to the Susquehanna Open, hosted by Susquehanna University on Feb. 15. The action is scheduled to get started at 9:30 a.m.
