READING, Pa. – The Messiah women's indoor track and field team competed in Day Two of the MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the Flynn Plex in Reading, Pa.
Esther Seeland accumulated three gold medals, winning the 1-mile (5:14.88), 400m (58.74s), and the 800m (2:11.81). Seeland's 800m time set a new MAC Indoor Championship record. The Falcons notched an impressive third-place finish amongst a strong field of 14 conference foes.
Seeland set a new MAC Indoor Championship record with her winning 800m time, earning her MAC Track Athlete of the Year award.
Misericordia University took home the conference crown with a total 154 team points as Widener University (115) finished as runner-ups.
Read below for the highlights of Day Two:
60m Dash
Ellie Longshaw was the lone Falcon competing in the 60m. Longshaw performed well, finishing with a time of 8.20s. The senior sprinter's time placed her seventh overall, earning Messiah two team points.
60m Hurdles
Claire Miller, after recording a time of 9.77s in the trials yesterday, competed in the 60m hurdles this afternoon. Miller finished with a time of 9.92s, placing seventh overall in the finals heat amongst strong competition, earning the team two points. Stevens' Laura Mathew took the gold with a time of 8.84s.
1-Mile
Seeland won her first gold medal of the day in the 1-mile event, topping all competition with a time of 5:14.88.
Kate Dickow placed directly behind Seeland, finishing with a time of 5:15.56 to earn a silver medal, also registering a new personal-best time.
Amber Fogelsanger also set a new personal-best in the event as well, crossing the line in 5:35.65.
200m
Longshaw, after representing Messiah well in the 60m dash, earned a bronze medal in the 200m. Longshaw's time of 26.61s placed third overall out of a strong field of 25 runners, setting a new personal-best time.
Elena Vargas (27.55s),
Halle Jennett (27.91s),
Emma Graybill (27.96s), and
Claire Miller (28.01s) all recorded impressive performances in the event as well.
Graybill, Vargas, and Miller all set new personal-best marks as well.
400m
Seeland's second gold medal of the afternoon came in the 400m event. Seeland's winning time of 58.74s edged Lebanon Valley's Darrian Berkheimer (59.98s).
Cassidy Chandler also competed in the event, issuing a strong 12th-place finish with a time of 1:04.28.
800m
Seeland, going for her third gold medal of the afternoon, issued a record-breaking performance in the 800m. Seeland topped all competition, recording a time of 2:11.81, setting a new MAC Indoor Championship meet record. The winning performance was her third of the day as
Kathleen Walstrom recorded a top-ten time, placing ninth overall, crossing the line in 2:26.81.
Olivia Cory (2:30.78),
Isabela Rodriguez (2:34.35), and
Regina Pirolli (2:34.90) all registered strong performances for the Falcons as well.
Seeland's time of 2:11.81 ranks second all-time in program history, falling short only to a time of 2:05.39 that she set earlier this season.
4x400m Relay
A relay squad of Chandler, Graybill, Longshaw, and Johnsen registered a strong performance in the 4x400m relay, notching the fourth-best time out of 15 competing teams. Messiah's time of 4:15.00 earned the Falcons five team points as Misericordia topped all competition with a final time of 4:09.39.
4x800m Relay
A team of Cory, Hess, Walstrom, and Seeland earned gold in the 4x800m relay. The team crossed the line first with a time of 9:41.08, the third-fastest time in program history. Messiah earned ten team points with the victory, cruising to the win with a cushion of just under 16 seconds (Widener – 9:57.14).
3000m
Dickow earned herself another medal in the 3000m event, placing third overall, crossing the line in 10:30.24. Dickow's medal-winning time was also a new personal-best time in the event.
Chloe Wester issued a top-ten performance as well, recording the eighth-best time (10:51.38). Katelyn Prothero (11:17.61) and
Teddi Powell (11:42.04) also recorded strong finishes for Messiah. Widener's Carly Gable topped all competition, issuing a winning time of 10:23.18.
Pentathlon
Natalie Hamlen,
Maria Sudlow, and
Ruby Ramsey represented Messiah in the pentathlon. The three Messiah representatives performed well in the event as Hamlen recorded a sixth-place finish out of the total field of 11 competitors. Hamlen totaled 2222 points as Sudlow (1880) and Ramsey (1854) registered impressive performances as well.
Triple Jump
Elena Vargas,
Emma Graybill, and
Olivia Call represented Messiah in the triple jump. The three Falcons registered impressive performances as Vargas placed eighth overall out of 17 total jumpers. Vargas recorded a mark of 10.44m as Graybill placed directly behind her teammate in ninth-place overall, ending with a top mark of 10.34m.
Olivia Call set a new personal-best mark in the event, leaping to a distance of 9.94m.
High Jump
Emily Gourley was the only Messiah representative in the high jump event, issuing a strong performance with a mark of 1.50m. Competing in a competitive field of 15 jumpers, Gourley placed eighth overall, earning the Falcons one team point.
Shot Put
Leah Ferster was the lone Falcon in the shot put event. Ferster registered an impressive performance, recording a final mark of 9.69m. Widener's Anna Cooney placed first with a winning mark of 14.23m.
