CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Messiah women's track and field team was in action on Saturday afternoon at the DeSales Invitational with a number of strong showings, new MAC Qualifying times, and another program record being broken by
Esther Seeland. In total, the Falcons won 10 events and claimed 40 top-five finishes on the day.
Highlighting the effort was
Esther Seeland, who broke the program record in the 400 Meter by over a second with a time of 55.30. Her time is the fastest in the country this season by over a second as well and she now holds the either the top spot in the Nation in both the 400 Meter and 800 Meter while currently sitting in second in the 1,500 Meter. Additionally, she is now the program record holder in the 400 Meter, 800 Meter, and 1,500 Meter by sizable margins.
Kathryn Wiederrecht and
Ellissa Slader turned in stellar finishes in the 200 Meter on Saturday with Slader setting a new personal best with a time of 25.84 to tie for fifth all-time in program history. Wiederrecht nearly set a new personal best, taking second in the event with a mark of 25.69.
In addition to her strong performance in the 200 Meter, Wiederrecht also won the 100 Meter (12.69) and 100 Meter Hurdles (15.71). Her winning time of 15.71 in the 100 Meter Hurdles is a new personal best and places her in a tie for 10th in the all-time program record book.
Messiah's best event of the day, might have been the 800 Meter with Falcons taking the top three spots and four of the top five.
Ashlyn Stonge won the event with a time of 2:23.27, while
Olivia Cory (second, 2:25.22),
Kathleen Walstrom (third, 2:26.07), and
Emma Johnsen (fifth, 2:28.72) were close behind. It could have also been the Steeplechase where Messiah took four of the top five spots with Ali Shutte leading the charge with a big personal best of 12:19.21 to take second. Katelyn Prothero (third, 13:07.37),
Jillian Brotherton (fourth, 13:28.12), and
Sarah Bath (fifth, 13:28.24) all turned in personal records while qualifying for the MAC Championships in the process.
Brieanna Hess also turned in a fantastic day with a new personal best in the 400 Meter Hurdles with a time of 1:09.36 while also running a 59 second split in the 4x400 Meter Relay, an event the Falcons by over eight seconds with a time of 4:04.12.
Taylor Wiederrecht turned in a pair of first-place finishes in the High Jump (1.55 meters) and the Long Jump (5.17 meters) while
Lila Goodhile took home first in the Javelin with a throw of 34.91 meters. The women's javelin was the final event of the day and the Falcons had three throwers in the finals. With the entire team cheering them on, Messiah finished in the top three sports with Goodhile out in front followed by
Brynn Gaugler (second, 33.47m) and
Ruby Ramsey (third, 31.39m).
As mentioned, a number of new MAC Qualification standards were met on Saturday, including
Cadee Wood in the Pole Vault with a mark of 2.66 meters.
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Alvernia for a Last Chance Meet before heading to the MAC Championships at Widener on May 6-8.
