READING, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team competed very well at the Shootout at the Plex meet hosted by Alvernia University, the site of the Indoor Middle Atlantic Conference Championships in 3 weeks. Highlights on the day for the Falcons consisted of an event victory in the 200m alongside five top 5 performances throughout the competition, a great base to build upon in the several weeks to come in the Indoor Track and Field season.
On The Track
Ella Swayne finished as the top Falcon in the opening event on the track, running strongly to finish with a time of 20:15.01. Julia Steel followed her teammate with a great run for a personal record time of 20:42.06, running a very quick opening three kilometers and holding on for a very strong performance. Elizabeth Anthony also improved by nearly a full minute on her performance in the 5000m from two weeks ago, turning in a time of 23:17.85 for the Falcons.Â
The Falcons were represented well by a strong contingent in the 60m hurdles. In the qualifying round, Kara Brown placed 4th with a time of 9.79, while Claire Miller grabbed the last qualifying spot with a time of 10.01, her best time yet while taking only three steps between each hurdle. Elizabeth Voegele was the next Falcon across the line with a time of 10.37 and was followed closely by Clara Benner, who ran a season best time of 10.44. Natalie Hamlen registered a new personal best time of 10.81 in the 60m hurdles to round out the Falcons' efforts in the qualifying round. Brown and Miller returned to race in the final, with Brown placing 5th with a time of 9.76 and Miller finishing in 8th with a time of 10.28.
Halle Jennett raced very well for the Falcons in the 60m, placing 8th in the preliminary round with a time of 8.21 and 7th in the final with another strong time of 8.20. Both performances are very close to her personal best time of 8.14, set earlier this season. Brooke Byron also represented the Falcons in the 60m, finishing with a new personal best time of 9.45.
A strong contingent represented the Falcons in the mile, led by Katie Anthony's season best and MAC qualifying time of 5:26.52 in her first race back from injury. Teddi Powell also finished under the MAC qualifying time of 5:43 with a collegiate best time of 5:42.49, running very strongly on her own to finish as the top runner of the second heat. Samantha Mynio finished next for the Falcons with a time of 6:02 in her first mile race of the season, while Allison Keller finished close behind with a strong personal best time of 6:09.20. Keller was followed by Helen Blakeslee, who finished with a season best time of 6:16.56, and Linnea Haney, who finished right behind with a season best time of 6:19.13. Jillian Brotherton also competed in the mile, finishing with a time of 6:24.24. Rounding out the efforts for the Falcons in the Mile, Lia Widenhofer finished with a new personal best time of 7:19.27, besting both of her previous performances this season by 11 seconds.
The women's 4x200m relay team, made up of Kara Brown, Halle Jennett, Emma Graybill, and Claire Miller, ran an excellent race to finish in 3rd place overall. The Falcons' time of 1:49.70 was the 6th fastest indoor performance in history and will be a performance the Falcons look to build on in several weeks' time at the same venue at Indoor MACs.Â
Clara Benner finished as the top Falcons in the womens' 400m, setting a new lifetime personal best with a time of 1:04.67. Lorelei Pryor made her season debut in the 400m with a season best time of 1:13.90 and was followed closely by Maribella Cervantes-Sanchez, who ran a season best time of 1:14.22.Â
A strong contingent of Falcons also raced in the 800m, several of them also doubling back from other events or the mile. Kerrigan Lebo finished as the top of the group in a time of 2:29.02, just behind her indoor personal best time set two weeks ago. Natalie Hamlen set a lifetime personal best in the 800m after already competing in two events, running very even splits and finishing with a time of 2:31.33. Juliette Safer also ran a very strong race to finish with a time of 2:37.57, her fastest time yet as a Falcon. Close behind, Helen Blakeslee ran a great race to finish with an indoor personal best time of 2:41.84 after a short turnaround from the mile. Allison Keller also raced the 800m, finishing with a time of 2:49.27, with Linnea Haney finishing right behind with a 2:52.57 performance. Sarah Smith's race in a time of 2:53.14 concluded the efforts by the Falcons on the day in the 800m. Julia Rickard also competed for the Falcons in the 800m, but did not record a finish.
The Falcons captured their first event victory on the day with Halle Jennett's incredible performance in the 200m, which took place after two 60m races and a leg in the 4x200m relay. Jennett finished with a new indoor personal best time of 26.34, which elevates her from 5th to 4th on the Messiah All-Time Indoor Performance list. Jennett also won the event overall, placing 0.09 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Emma Graybill also turned in a strong performance for the Falcons, finishing with a new indoor personal best time of 27.82. Clara Benner ran well for the Falcons, finishing with a season best time of 28.75 in her college debut in the 200m. Kara Brown finished with a time of 29.56 for the Falcons after competing in the 4x200m relay, and Brooke Byron also finished with a strong performance with a personal best time of 31.25.
Madison Kimmel produced one of the highlights for the Falcons in the 3000m, running all on her own in the second heat to comfortably qualify for MACs with an indoor personal best time of 11:16.57. Lexi Lapp and Grace Bath followed this with strong performances of their own, running respective times of 13:32.84 and 13:36.57.Â
The final track event on the day, the womens' 4x400m relay, saw a strong performance from a more uncommon assembly of runners for the Falcons. Kerrigan Lebo led the team off with a strong leg of 63 seconds and was followed by solid legs from Clara Benner, Juliette Safer, and Natalie Hamlen. The team finished with a time of 4:24.03 to place third overall in the event.
In the Field
The Falcons' efforts in the field events were kicked off with Natalie Hamlen's great performance in the long jump, in which she notched a strong indoor personal best distance of 4.59m. Emily Crago also finished with a personal best distance of 4.31m.
Another highlight for the Falcons on the day was Hannah Witter's incredible performance in the pole vault. Witter cleared a new personal best height of 3.15m (10' 4") on her first attempt, then followed that jump up with a spectacular clearance of 3.30m (10' 10") on her second attempt, amounting to a total personal record height of 8 inches on the day. Witter's vault also launched her to 6th to 4th on the Messiah All-Time Indoor Performance list. Behind her teammate, Olivia Call also competed very well for the Falcons with a season-best height of 2.70m (8' 10.25"). Cadee Wood also competed strongly for the Falcons, jumping a height of 2.55m (8' 4.25")
In the high jump, Kara Brown finished as the top Falcon with a season best clearance of 1.47m (4' 9.75"). Sarah Gilbert also made her season debut for the Falcons by competing in the high jump and will seek a clearance in subsequent competitions.
Emma Graybill finished first amongst Falcons in the triple jump by tying her season best mark of 9.59m, with Claire Miller finishing close behind with a distance of 8.89m. Olivia Call also competed for the Falcons in the triple jump.
In the throws, the Falcons benefitted from two performances in the shot put from Leah Ferster and Beth Cummings. Ferster threw a distance of 8.37m, while Beth Cummings made her debut for the Falcons with a throw of 6.04m.
Leah Ferster also performed very strongly in the weight throw, improving her own 3rd All-Time Indoor Performance from 12.89m to her new personal best distance of 13.05m. Jaclyn Steenstra also threw a personal best distance in the weight throw with a mark of 11.00m, improving her position on the Messiah Indoor All-Time Performance list from 8th to 7th.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will next compete at the Blue & White Invitational hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on February 9th. The Falcons look to build on the day's strong performances and to make the most of each opportunity to compete before the Indoor Middle Atlantic Conference Championships occur in three weeks.
