YORK, Pa. – The Messiah women's track & field team competed in a meet at York College (Pa.) on Thursday afternoon, earning a total of seven first-place finishes. Six different Falcons claimed first-place finishes in individual events, while a relay team of Elissa Slader,
Cassidy Chandler, Brieanna hess, and
Ellie Longshaw crossed the line first in the 4x400 meter relay (4:31.07).
Slader, who led the 4x400 relay team, placed a top time of 12.71 seconds in the 100 meter. The anchor of the winning relay team, Longshaw, earned a first-place finish in the 400 meter with a time of 1:03.13. The Junior edged the second-place finisher, Rachel Panek of Stevenson University, by just over one second.
Claire Miller, in just her second day of competition in collegiate track & field, placed first in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:12.97. During the opening meet of the 2021 season two weeks prior, Miller placed third in the same event, improving on her time by nearly three seconds (1:15.73).
Cera Gaston and
Sarah Codd led the Falcons in the distance events. Gaston, who led the pack in the 10K on Starry Track two weeks ago, ran her way to a top time of 5:09.23 in the 1500. Four Messiah runners placed behind Gaston, led by
Kathleen Walstrom (5:10.75), and followed by
Teddi Powell (5:18.24),
Chloe Wester (5:19.27), and
Madison Myers (5:28.27). Codd paced all runners in the 5000, placing first with a time of 18:29.99.
Taylor Weiderrecht earned herself a first-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.50 (4'11") meters.
The Falcons placed a top time in the 4x400 meter relay in back-to-back meets. The winning time of 4:31.07 edged fellow Messiah teammates
Ashlyn Stonge, Myers,
Laura Tan, and
Olivia Cory by nearly a second (4:31.96).
In addition to earning multiple first-place finishes, Messiah turned in a considerable amount of second-place finishes. Miller, to compliment her top time in the 400 meter hurdles, placed second in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.75.
Bayley Hess had a quality performance in the pole vault, clearing 2.60 meters (8'6.25") for a second-place finish. Weiderrecht, in addition to claiming first in the high jump, claimed second in the long jump (4.78m).
Lila Goodhile performed well in the javelin throw, earning a second-place distance of 31.42 meters.
After placing first in the opening meet of the season (Mar. 19), today's competition did not feature team scoring.
The Falcons will be back in action next Thursday, Apr. 8, when they host the Messiah Multi at Starry Track.
