SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Messiah women's track and field team issued split-squad efforts on Friday afternoon, competing at both the Susquehanna Tune-Up at James W. Garrett Sports Complex Field House (Susquehanna University) and the Penn State Tune-Up at Ashenfelter Indoor Track (Penn State University). Messiah had many highlights from the two events, including a new program record and NCAA Division III record in the 600m from
Esther Seeland (1:30.01) at Penn State and a strong showing in the 800m that included three top-ten finishes at Susquehanna.
The Falcons will be back in action next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 & 26, in the MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships at Alvernia University.
Read below for the highlights of each meet:
Susquehanna Tune-Up
60m Dash
Emma Graybill and
Halle Jennett each performed well in the 60m dash, advancing to the finals with impressive preliminary performances. Graybill won her preliminary heat with a mark of 8.32s as Jennett placed third in that same heat, crossing the line in 8.38s. In the finals, Graybill placed third (8.34s) as Jennett (8.46s) placed fifth.
60m Hurdles
Ruby Ramsey represented the Falcons in the 60m hurdles. Ramsey recorded a time of 11.85s, placing ninth out of 11 total sprinters.
Lindsey Bernd (5:55.23),
Sarah Smith (6:02.70),
Claire Kriner (6:12.72), and
Jillian Brotherton (6:26.29) all represented the Falcons in strong fashion in the distance event as well.
200m
A total of five Falcons competed in the 200m event. The showing was strong from the Messiah representatives, highlighted by an impressive fifth-place finish from
Halle Jennett (27.89s).
Emma Graybill followed her fellow teammate, placing sixth overall with a mark of 27.91s. Vargas recorded a strong finish as well, crossing the line in 27.99s,
Claire Miller (28.36s) and
Noelle Crowley (31.62s) represented Messiah well with their performances.
400m
Sarah Kelchner and
Julia Rickard ran in the 400m event for Messiah. Kelchner earned a 14th-place finish out of 26 total runners with a mark of 1:06.55 as Rickard issued a strong performance as well, crossing the line in 1:08.77. The two Falcons ran in the second heat as Kelchner topped all competition in the heat with her impressive time.
800m
The 800m was a strong event for the Falcons as three runners placed top-ten.
Isabela Rodriguez led the way for Messiah with a fourth-place finish (2:33.29) as
Regina Pirolli (2:34.38) and
Sarah Smith (2:36.35) placed sixth and seventh overall, respectively.
Lindsey Bernd (2:38.91),
Colleen Quinn (2:52.89),
Jillian Brotherton (2:53.59),
Maria Sudlow (2:56.38), and
Ruby Ramsey (3:12.77) all turned in quality performances for Messiah.
3000m
Three Falcons ran in the 3000m.
Hannah Steckbeck led the way for the Falcons with a fourth-place finish behind an impressive time of 11:52.81 as
Amber Swaisgood placed sixth with a time of 11:53.67.
Elise Davenport issued a strong performance as well, recording a mark of 12:34.40.
1-Mile
Amber Fogelsanger recorded a top-ten finish in the 1-mile, finishing eighth overall with a time of 5:39.27. Lindsay Bernd (5:55.23),
Sarah Smith (6:02.70),
Claire Kriner (6:12.72), and
Jillian Brotherton (6:26.29) all represented the Falcons in strong fashion in the distance event as well. Fogelsanger, with her team-best time, improved upon her 1-mile time from last week (5:47.47).
High Jump
Emily Gourley had a strong showing for the Falcons in the high jump event. Gourley finished third overall out of a competitive field of 18 jumpers with a height of 1.53m. The senior jumper achieved her top mark on her fifth jump as
Ruby Ramsey (1.30m) and
Maria Sudlow (1.22m) competed well for Messiah as well in the event.
Triple Jump
Both
Emma Graybill and
Elena Vargas recorded strong performances in the triple jump. Vargas placed fourth out of 12 total jumpers, earning a mark of 10.24m. Graybill was directly behind Vargas in the final results, placing fifth with a distance of 9.98m.
Shot Put
Messiah had four representatives compete in the shot put event as
Leah Ferster issued a strong performance, placing 12th out of 31 throwers with a mark of 9.35m.
Macey Wolfe (7.45m), Caroline Hatch (7.42m),
Brynn Gaugler (7.32m), and
Maria Sudlow (6.94m) all registered impressive marks for the Falcons.
Pole Vault
Three Falcons competed in the pole vault event.
Cadee Wood led the way for Messiah, vaulting to a top mark of 2.75m, placing an impressive third overall out of 12 vaulters.
Noelle Crowley (2.60m) and
Olivia Call (2.40m) each issued strong performances as well.
PSU Tune-Up
60m
Ellie Longshaw ran in the 60m dash, placing sixth overall in the finals amongst strong competition. Longshaw raced alongside NCAA DI, DII, and DIII sprinters, recording a time of 8.26s.
200m
Longshaw represented the Falcons in the 200m as well, registering another impressive performance. The senior sprinter placed 12th out of 26 total sprinters with a mark of 26.80s. Her time, a season-best mark, places her sixth overall on the fastest indoor 200m sprints ever ran in Messiah women's indoor track and field history.
600m
Esther Seeland ran in the 600m event, placing second overall with a mark of 1:30.01. Her time set a new National Record in the event in NCAA Division III history. Her time was 1.67 seconds ahead of the previous record set by Phoebe Aguiar from Macalester (1:31.68). The time also shattered the Messiah program record set by Grace Kaste (2009) in 1:40.74. Seeland fell just short of placing first in the event as Penn State's Victoria Vanriele crossed the line first in 1.29.86.
Weight Throw
Amanda Brown represented Messiah in the weight throw event. The senior thrower recorded a mark of 11.69m, placing ninth out of 11 total throwers. Brown improved upon her previous season-best mark of 11.28m, which she achieved two weeks ago at The Armory DIII Invitational.
