LANCASTER, Pa. - The Messiah women's track and field team kicked off the 2022-23 indoor season at the Diplomat Open hosted by Franklin & Marshall University Friday night. Seventeen individuals put up MAC qualifying performances in the early season meet that included a number of top ten performances on the afternoon and evening.
 
The Falcons started the meet with four runners placing in the top ten of the 5000 Meter. Leading the pack was Katie Anthony who raced to a second-place finish after crossing the line in a time of 19:25.29. Teddi Powell, Joy Galbraith and Amber Swaisgood ran times of 19:56.95, 19:59.41 and 20:10.09 to finish in sixth, seventh, and ninth, respectively. All four runners earned MAC qualifying times.
 
Halle Jennett highlighted the sprints for the Falcons, collecting third place finishes in both the 60 Meter and the 200 Meter. Her times of 8.20 and 27.54 were both under the MAC qualifying time. Joining her with top-ten finishes in the 60 Meter were Emma Graybill (8.34, eighth) and Arwyn Gruenwald (8.35, ninth). Graybill and Gruenwald's times were qualifying performances for the MAC Championships as well.
 
Three more Falcons earned qualifying times in their races on Friday night. Kerrigan Lebo earned a second-place finish in the 400 Meter with a time of 1:03.79. Olivia Cory's 2:33.56 in the 800 Meter was enough for a fifth-place finish. Amber Fogelsanger also picked up a second-place finish with a time of 11:30.88 in the 3000 Meter.
 
Kathleen Walstrom led a trio of Falcons in the top-10 of the Mile. Walstrom's time of 5:48.34 led her to a second-place finish overall. Linnea Haney (6:21.43) and Sarah Smith (6:23.30) finished in fifth and seventh, respectively.
 
Elena Vargas led the way for the Falcons in the field events. Her marks of 10.76m in the Triple Jump and 4.95m in the Long Jump were enough to earn first place in the Triple Jump and a third-place finish in the long jump. She also raced to an eighth-place finish in the 200 Meter in a time of 28.03, earning MAC qualifying performances in all three events. Olivia Call registered a distance of 9.65m in the Triple Jump as well as a height of 2.59m in the Pole Vault to earn two MAC qualifying performances herself. Other qualifying performances in the Pole Vault were Noelle Crowley (2.74m) and Cadee Wood (2.89m). Wood's jump was enough to tie her for fifth in the event.
 
Kara Brown was the loan Falcon in the High Jump where she finished in fifth with a height of 1.50m and another MAC qualifying performance for the Falcons. She added a second qualifying performance after finishing in fourth place of the 60-Meter High Hurdles with a time of 9.84. Brown finished just behind teammate Claire Miller who took third in a time of 9.73 while earning her spot to the MAC Championship.
 
The action on the track concluded with a third-place finish in the 4x400 Meter Relay for the team of Walstrom, Lebo, Kruth, and Brieanna Hess with a time of 4:26.52.
 
Leah Ferster competed in both the Weight Throw and Shotput. She threw a distance of 9.80m in the weight and 9.39m in the Shotput, reaching MAC qualifying marks in both events. Joining her in the Shotput was Natalie Hamlen who threw 8.09m. In addition to competing in the Shotput, Hamlen also competed in the Long Jump (4.30m), 60 Meter High Hurdles (11.92) and the 400 Meter (1:09.30).
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Jan. 21, 2023 when they travel to Houghton University.

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