READING, Pa – The Messiah Women's Track and Field team wrapped up the indoor season with a fourth-place team finish at the 2025 Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Falcons had 15 podium finishers with five medalists. Highlighting the weekend was a gold medal performance for the 4x800 Meter Relay team of
Kerrigan Lebo,
Juliette Safer,
Meagan Kime, and
Elana Pineda who combined for a time of 9:52.63.
Friday Track Action
Messiah's first event on day one was the 4000 Meter Distance Medley Relay.
Elana Pineda,
Halle Jennett,
Kerrigan Lebo, and
Madison Kimmel combined for a time of 12:38.62, finishing fourth and earning Messiah's first podium finish of the championships. The time is the seventh-fastest on the Messiah Indoor Top Ten list.
Kara Brown was next to take to the track when she competed in the preliminary round of the 60 Meter Hurdles. Brown's time of 9.34 was the fourth fastest time in prelims and earned her a spot in Saturday's final.
Elizabeth Voegele crossed the line in a season-best time of 10.21.
In the 60 Meter Dash,
Arwyn Gruenwald secured a spot in Saturday's final with the fourth-fastest preliminary time and season best of 8.01.
Delaney Turk was the top Falcon in the 5000 Meter Run, claiming seventh with a new personal best time of 18:55.37. Finishing just outside of a podium finish was
Ella Swayne, who's time of 18:57.50 earned ninth. Teammate
Ava Shirk was close behind in 10th, crossing in a season best time of 19:06.89.
Aubrey Yeager (20:13.78) and
Olivia Miller (20:18.70) also competed for the Falcons.
Friday Field Action
Friday's field events kicked off with the Weight Throw which served as a day one highlight for the Falcons. Senior
Leah Ferster finished eighth with a new personal best and school record throw of 14.30 meters.
Jaclyn Steenstra finished with a personal best distance of 13.44 meters while
Sidney Avers threw 10.55 meters.
Ella Axtell rounded out Messiah's efforts with a distance of 8.68 meters.
Hannah Witter earned the silver medal in Pole Vault with a clearance of 3.30 meters, just five centimeters below the top competitor.
Saturday Track Action
In the 60 Meter Hurdle finals,
Kara Brown improved upon her prelim time and crossed the line in a personal best time of 9.29, earning second. Her time is now sixth on the Messiah Indoor Top Ten list. Â
Arwyn Gruenwald ran 8.01 in the finals of the 60 Meter Dash to finish fourth.
Halle Jennett represented the Falcons in the 400 Meter Dash, running a personal best time of 58.82 to earn second. Jennett was only four hundredths off the winner and two full seconds ahead of third. Jennett is now third all-time on the Messiah Indoor Top Ten list.
Elana Pineda and
Kerrigan Lebo led the Falcons in the 800 Meter Run, finishing sixth and eighth respectively. Pineda crossed the line in a time of 2:23.65 with Lebo finishing in a time of 2:25.36.
Halle Jennett and
Arwyn Gruenwald each earned their second podium finishes of the weekend in the 200 Meter Dash. Jennett earned the bronze with a time of 26.42 while Gruenwald finished sixth with a time of 26.70. Gruenwald's time is the eighth-best all time.
A quartet of Falcons toed the line for the 3000 Meter Run with
Delaney Turk leading the way in a personal best time of 10:40.76, finishing 11th. Her time is the eighth-best on the Messiah Indoor Top Ten list. Â The remaining Falcons finished in successional order with
Ella Swayne crossing in a personal best time of 10:58.36,
Madison Kimmel crossing in a time of 11:00.50, and
Ava Shirk crossing in a season best time of 11:05.76.
A highlight for Messiah came with the gold medal finish in the 4x800 Meter Relay. The team of
Kerrigan Lebo,
Juliette Safer,
Meagan Kime, and
Elana Pineda combined for a time of 9:52.63, 10 seconds faster than the runner up. The time is the seventh-fastest on the Messiah Indoor Top Ten List.
Wrapping up action on the track was the 4x400 Meter Relay team of
Arwyn Gruenwald,
Clara Benner, Isa Rodriquez,and
Halle Jennett. The team finished seventh with a time of 4:20.95.
Saturday Field Action
Messiah placed a pair on the podium in the Shot Put with
Leah Ferster finishing sixth with a distance of 11.11 meters and
Leah Ritzman finishing eighth with a mark of 10.81 meters.
Ella Axtell finished with a toss of 9.73 meters and
Ayva Sechman threw a mark of 9.39 meters.
In the High Jump,
Kara Brown finished with a height of 1.42 meters.
As mentioned, the 2025 Middle Atlantic Conference Championships served as a close for the indoor season and the Falcons will look to prepare for the outdoor season ahead.
