READING, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team opened up their 2026 slate of competition with an excellent collective performance at the Alvernia Winter Invitational on Saturday night, submitting a number of very competitive performances against a number of DII and DIII programs. The Falcons benefitted from three new entries on the program's top ten list and also finished with one event win and 11 MAC qualifying marks in addition to those earned at the first meet in December, setting themselves up well for continued success as their season progresses.
The Falcons will return to action next weekend at the Coach I Invitational, hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday, January 24. The Falcons will look to build on their strong start to 2026 with another slate of fantastic performances as their season gets underway.Â
On the Track
Action on the track opened with the 4x800 Meter Relay, with the Falcons' event win coming in the opening competition. The Falcons' team of
Elana Pineda,
Alleha Glenn,
Meagan Kime, and
Kerrigan Lebo topped the field with a collective time of 9:55.11, the No. 9 time in program history. The team was led by Lebo's team-best split of 2:23.9 on anchor, ensuring a comfortable margin of victory over second-placed York (10:04.05). The Falcons also fielded a second team in the event made up of
Kenzee Wiker,
Madison Kimmel,
Paulina Torres, and
Linnea Haney, with the quartet finishing with a time of 10:40.62 thanks to Kimmel's team-best split of 2:27.
The Falcons had a number of excellent performances in the 5000 Meter Run, led by junior
Aubrey Yeager finishing with a lifetime personal record of 19:34.49 that easily qualifies her for MACs. Teammate
Ava Shirk finished close behind with a MAC-qualifying time of 19:40.14, with the duo running nearly the entire race together and earning consistent splits before closing quickly.
Allison Keller joined Yeager with a sizable personal record of 20:30.54, smashing her previous best of 20:56.28 set at the Falcons' most recent meet in December and coming within seven seconds of the MAC qualifying standard.
Elizabeth Anthony also set an indoor personal record time of 21:55.08 after a very quick opening and was followed by
Abi Ferry (22:28.21) and
Grace Bath (22:31.03), who both set indoor season bests.
Senior
Kara Brown led the Falcons in the 60 Meter Hurdles, finishing with a time of 9.61 in the preliminary round that earned her the seventh of eight qualifying spots to the final. Brown reprised that finish with seventh in the finals in a time of 9.68.
Kaitlyn Albrecht also competed in the preliminary round of the hurdles, earning a MAC-qualifying time of 10.34.
In the flat 60 Meter Dash,
Arwyn Gruenwald finished at the front amongst her teammates with a time of 8.34.
Dajea Batchler ran a time of 8.71 in her collegiate debut, while fellow freshman
Lily Scheetz finished close behind with a time of 8.88.
The Falcons had another large contingent competing in the Mile, with
Alleha Glenn following up her performance in the 4x800 Meter with an indoor personal record time of 5:51.23.
Allison Keller endured an even quicker turnaround after the 5000 Meter to run a fantastic time of 6:02.99, while
Katie Gardner earned a personal record time of 6:11.94.
Kelsey Hoffman finished with a season best time of 6:34.70, while
Abigail Smith rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a time of 7:28.76.
The Falcons finished second amongst a field of seven teams in the 4x200 Meter Relay, with the team of
Arwyn Gruenwald,
Kaitlyn Albrecht,
Dajea Batchler, and
Lily Scheetz running a collective time of 1:53.98.Â
Elizabeth Biehl was the top Falcon in the 400 Meter Dash, turning in a time of 1:06.96 that comes within a second of the MAC qualifying standard.
Kyra Dillon was close behind, stopping the clock at 1:07.93, with
Kaitlynn Yeager also running a season best time of 1:19.09.
Kerrigan Lebo and
Elana Pineda led the Falcons in the 800 Meter Run, finishing fourth and fifth overall respectively behind two very strong MAC qualifying times of 2:24.70 and 2:25.61. The duo ran nearly the entirety of their race together, with Lebo spending much of the race a few steps ahead of her teammate and holding that gap to the finish.
Meagan Kime was the next Falcon to finish with a time of 2:32.80 and was joined in her heat by
Kenzee Wiker, who stopped the clock at 2:39.35.
Paulina Torres and
Linnea Haney also raced together in their 800 Meter heat, with the duo finishing with respective times of 2:45.71 and 2:46.37.
Kara Brown was the first of two Falcon finishers in the 200 Meter Dash, ending up with a time of 29.34.
Dajea Batchler also finished with a time of 30.31.
The 3000 Meter Run supplied another incredible highlight for the day, as sophomore
Delaney Turk led a number of Falcons to finish second overall with a massive personal record time of 10:28.40 that stands as the No. 4 performance in school history. Turk ran incredibly even splits, with all three of her kilometers being almost identical en route to a stunning performance that easily qualifies her for MACs.
Madison Kimmel doubled back from the 4x800 Meter Relay to finish just two seconds adrift of her personal record, running a MAC qualifying time of 10:46.74 after a furious 38.49 final lap.
Ella Swayne also raced very well for the Falcons, finishing with a MAC-qualifying personal record time of 10:48.59.
Emmie Battersby also earned a MAC qualification with an excellent personal best performance of 11:16.79.
Samantha Mynio ran a strong race for the Falcons to finish near her personal record with a time of 12:07.30, while
Lexi Lapp (14:46.17) and
Lia Widenhofer (15:26.99) also racing well for the Falcons.
In the Field
Freshman
Alivia Ritenour was the Falcons' sole entrant in the pole vault and earned a MAC qualification with a top clearance at 2.75 meters (9' 0.25").
Kaitlyn Albrecht was also the only Falcon to participate in the High Jump, finishing with a height of 1.45 meters (4' 9").Â
Ella Axtell led a number of Falcons in the Shot Put with a MAC qualifying and season best throw of 10.56 meters (34' 7.75"), a mark that just surpassed that of her teammate
Lucy Colyer, who finished with a top throw of 10.49 meters (34' 5").
Leah Ritzman finished with a throw of 9.76 meters (32' 0.25"), with
Ayva Sechman close behind with a mark of 9.27 meters (30' 5").
Libby Jones also finished just adrift of her personal record with a throw of 8.42 meters (27' 7.5"), while Morgan Diebler finished with a personal best of 6.40 meters (21' 0") in just her third ever collegiate competition.Â
Jaclyn Steenstra was the top Falcon in the final event of the day, the Weight Throw, with a mark of 12.71 meters (41' 8.5") placing her in 11th overall amongst a very competitive field. Close behind,
Lucy Colyer finished with a MAC qualifying throw of 12.07 meters (39' 7.25"), a performance that places her seventh on the Falcons' all-time top ten list in the event.
Sidney Avers earned a sizable season best throw of 9.51 meters (21' 2.5"), finishing just ahead of
Ella Axtell's top mark of 9.07 meters (29' 9.25") to round out the day.
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action next weekend at the Coach I Invitational, hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday, January 24. The Falcons will look to build on their strong start to 2026 with another slate of fantastic performances as their season gets underway.Â
