YORK, Pa. - The Falcons made the most of a very windy day at York College for the York Twilight Meet that made fast running difficult, turning in a number of strong performances relative to the strong competition on the day. The Falcons earned two event wins, one in the track and one in the field, alongside three new MAC qualifications, setting the team up well for continued success in the final several meets of the season.
 
On The Track
 
Action on the track for the Falcons began with the 100 Meter Hurdles, in which Kara Brown turned in another stellar performance of 15.18 with strong wind at her back, taking a resounding event win and finishing just two hundredths off her personal best. 
 
The Falcons had a strong duo compete in the 400 Meter Dash despite the swirling and gusting winds, with Clara Benner finishing in fourth place overall with a MAC-qualifying time of 1:04.08. Meagan Kime finished close behind with a season-best time of 1:06.50. 
 
A number of Falcons toed the line in the 800 Meter Run amidst the difficult conditions, with Kerrigan Lebo finishing as the top Falcon by a convincing margin and taking second place overall. Lebo ran a very strong time with an impressive negative split, clocking in 400 meter splits of 72.67 and 71.30 despite leading a large portion of the race into the wind. Isabela Rodriguez was the next Falcon to finish, clocking a time of 2:35.15, followed closely by the Falcon trio of Helen Blakeslee (2:37.25), Katie Gardner (2:39.13), and Juliette Safer (2:39.25). Kelsey Hoffman and Abigail Smith finished as the final Falcon due, running times of 2:51.82 and 3:05.27, outdoor season bests for both runners. 
 
The Falcons had an enormous contingent in the 1500 Meter Run, with exactly half of the field of 24 being made up of Messiah competitors. The Falcons mainly sought to compete relative to other competitors on a day when quick times were difficult to run and ended up performing very well, finishing second and third and taking three of the top five spots. Elana Pineda led the Falcons' charge with a time of 5:02.83 to take second overall, with Madison Kimmel finishing just a step behind with a 5:03.11 clocking. Kayra DeVries was the next Falcon in line, finishing with an impressive time of 5:10.59 to take fifth in the very windy conditions. Ella Swayne (5:21.48), Delaney Turk (5:31.48), and Linnea Haney (5:46.76) finished right next to each other in the finishing order despite the wide disparity in their times, with a short gap back to Grace Bath, who finished with a personal record time of 5:49.93. Elizabeth Anthony and Allison Keller turned in times of 5:55.50 and 5:56.51 respectively, another personal record clocking for the former and a season-best for Keller. Lexi Lapp and Julia Steel finished with respective times of 6:08.79 and 6:25.00, while Lia Widenhofer rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a personal best time of 6:38.18. 
 
In the 200 Meter Dash, Kara Brown completed one half of her incredible double by setting a personal record time of 27.40, knocking a tenth of a second off of her previous best. Emma Graybill returned to racing after an extensive period off due to injury with a time of 29.18, an extremely impressive performance after missing so much time due to the severity of the injury.
 
The Falcons had a single competitor in the 5000 Meter Run in the form of Samantha Mynio, who made the most of her solo run with a personal best clocking of 20:19.35, shedding two seconds off her previous lifetime best of 20:21.36 from two weeks ago. 
 
The Falcons had two teams toe the line in the 4x400 Meter Relay, with the "A" team, made up of Elana Pineda, Madison Kimmel, Meagan Kime, and Clara Benner, finished in second place with a time of 4:16.20, with Pineda and Benner running team-best 62 second splits. The "B" team, which was made up of Kerrigan Lebo, Isabela Rodriguez, Katie Gardner, and Juliette Safer, finished close behind in fifth overall with a time of 4:26.74 thanks to Lebo's team-best 63 second clocking on her leg.
 
In The Field
 
Events in the field kicked off with the Discus Throw, where Jaclyn Steenstra led the Falcons with a top throw of 31.88 meters, a very strong mark despite the difficult throwing conditions. Leah Ritzman finished very close behind with a mark of 30.70 meters, a distance just two inches off her personal best in the event. Carolina Hatch ended with a distance of 24.21 meters.
 
Leah Ferster was the top Falcon finisher in the Hammer Throw, launching the implement to a distance of 36.51 meters to take fifth place overall. Jaclyn Steenstra finished a similar margin off her personal best in the event with a throw of 33.93 meters. Sidney Avers and Ella Axtell finished with marks of 25.82 meters and 22.24 meters respectively, a mark that sits just a few centimeters behind Avers' personal record in the event. 
 
Kara Brown had a spectacular performance in the High Jump, finally clearing a bar at 1.55 meters for the first time in her collegiate career after countless attempts at the height. Brown's clearance at 1.55 meters (5' 1") stands as a collegiate best by a large margin over her previous best of 1.52 meters, placing her fourth overall in the competition. 
 
The Falcon throwers also had a strong competition in the Shot Put, with Leah Ferster finishing as the top of the group with a very strong throw of 10.91 meters that sits just a single centimeter off her season best. Leah Ritzman was next in the finishing order with a distance of 10.31 meters, a sizable season best for the freshman, while fellow freshman Ella Axtell finished with a personal record throw of 10.21 meters, besting her old mark by a single centimeter. Ayva Sechman also competed in the Shot Put, achieving a best throw of 9.41 meters.
 
Hannah Witter provided yet another highlight for the Falcons in the Pole Vault, once again breaking her own school record for the third time this season and setting a new school record for the fourth time in four meets. Witter's top jump of 3.70 meters (12' 1.5") - done on a first-time clearance - surpasses her old school record by four centimeters and brings her total improvement upon the record this season to an incredible 28 centimeters. Witter also took three very strong attempts at 3.80 meters, a height that, if cleared, would almost ensure her qualification to Nationals. Hannah Estep also had a strong Pole Vault competition, qualifying for MACs with a jump of 2.70 meters (8' 10.25") that ties her collegiate best from last season. Olivia Call also set a season best in the Pole Vault, topping a height of 2.55 meters (8' 4.25"), while Rachel Hartman cleared a height of 2.25 meters (7' 4.5"), her first clearance this season. 
 
Leah Ferster once again led the Falcons in the final field event of the day, the Javelin Throw, with a personal best mark of 27.84 meters that qualified her for MACs. Ayva Sechman also had a strong javelin competition, throwing for a personal best distance of 20.75 meters. 
 
Up Next
 
The Falcons will next compete as an entire team at Shippensburg University's Paul Kaiser Invitational on Saturday, April 26th, in what will serve as the team's final meet before the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor T&F Championships take place the following weekend. In the meantime, however, several Falcons will compete at Widener's Paul Donahue Invitational on April 18th and 19th as well as Penn Relays on April 24th and 25th, with competitors in these meets chasing quick individual times or collective relay performances. The Falcons plan to make the most of every competition before Outdoor MACs as the season already begins to draw to a close, hoping to set themselves up for late-season success in the meet that matters most.
 

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