READING, Pa. – The Messiah women's track and field competed in the Alvernia Last Chance meet in Reading, Pa. on Saturday afternoon. The meet was successful for the Falcons, filled with personal best times and new qualifiers for the upcoming Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship meet to be held later this week (May 6-8) in Chester, Pa. Highlighting the results was
Madison Myers in the 800, earning a new personal best (2:31.06), also qualifying for the MAC Championship Meet.
Joining Myers in earning a new personal best time was
Megan Raab, recording a time of 28.72 seconds in the 200.
Kathryn Wiederrecht had a strong showing in the in the same heat, topping all competition with a time of 26.47 seconds. Wiederrecht, who also competed in the 100, nearly eclipsed the twelve-second threshold in the 100, earning a first-place time of 13.01 seconds. Raab also ran in the same heat, crossing the line in 14.11 seconds.
The 800 was the most inspiring event of the meet for the Falcons. Both
Lorelei Pryor and
Meghan Sampson recorded personal best times in the event. Pryor and Sampson, each running in the second heat, recorded times of 2:44.09 and 2:45.41, respectively.
Laura Kruth led all competition in the first heat, notching a first-place finish with a time of 2:27.73, followed closely by Myers (2:31.06). To top it all off,
Ally Austen made her return to the track in the 800, her first race back from surgery.
Sarah Smith competed in the 1500, earning a new personal best time of 5:57.64. Leading all competition in the event was
Hannah Steckbeck, recording a time of 5:33.30.
Taylor Wiederrecht also had a strong day for the Falcons. Wiederrecht accomplished a season best mark in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.65 meters. In addition to her impressive showing in the high jump, Wiederrecht recorded a top time in the 100 hurdles (18.81).
Heptathlete
Ruby Ramsey clinched as a new qualifier as
Brynn Gaugler achieved a top distance of 31.63 meters in the javelin throw.
The Falcons will be back in action on Thursday, May 6, at the MAC Championship meet in Chester, Pa. The meet is a three-day event (May 6-8).
Seeland Runs at Virginia
Later on Saturday evening,
Esther Seeland competed at the Virginia Grand Prix at the University of Virginia in the 800 Meter. Against a field littered with Division I talent, Seeland was fantastic. She turned in a time of 2:03.25, shattering her program record by a fraction shy of two seconds (2:05.24) and becoming the second-fastest woman in Division III history to ever run the event. Seeland's time is the fastest in Division III this season by more than eight seconds. To put that in perspective, Emily Pomainville from SUNY Geneso currently has the second-fastest Division III time in the country this year at 2:11.51.
While Seeland is tops in Division III in the event, she also is a big name in the 800 Meter more broadly. Seeland's run on Saturday night was the 12th fastest in the country across all three divisions of NCAA. Her record-breaking run on Saturday was also less than a second off the US Olympic Trail Qualifying Standard at 2:02.50.
Seeland continues to hold down the top Division III mark in the 400 Meter (55.30) and the third quickest time in the 1500 Meter (4:27.39).
