LANCASTER, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team enjoyed an excellent outing at the Coach I Invite hosted by Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday night, competing alongside 17 other programs. The Falcons' performances were highlighted by seven new MAC qualifying marks as well as three new entries on the program all-time top ten list. The Falcons also held their own against the large assortment of competitors by registering seven top five finishes across the various events of the day.
The Falcons will return to action next weekend at the Bucknell Invitational & Multi, on January 30 and 31, an extremely competitive two-day meet that will ensure the Falcons benefit from intense competition. The Falcons continue to build towards the Indoor MAC championships at the end of next month, working to refine their performances as their season progresses.Â
On the Track
The Falcons registered several excellent performances in the 5000 Meter Run to open the meet on the track, led by
Emmie Battersby's personal best 19:18.42 clocking that betters her previous personal best set last month by over 20 seconds.
Allison Keller also continued her incredible streak of improvement and personal records in the 5000 Meter, setting yet another personal record time of 20:09.54 to convincingly surpass both the MAC qualifying standard of 20:23.22 and her previous best of 20:30.54.
Samantha Mynio ran a strong race to finish with a time of 20:44.34, with
Lia Widenhofer rounding out the Falcons' efforts with a time of 26:51.42Â
Kara Brown was the only Falcon to compete in the 60 Meter Hurdles, finishing in third place in the preliminary round with a time of 9.70 to easily qualify herself for the final. Brown later ran the same time in the final, finishing in fourth overall with a time of 9.70. In the flat 60 Meter Dash, senior
Arwyn Gruenwald led a larger group of Falcons with a time of 8.25. Freshman
Dajea Batchler finished next amongst her teammates with a personal best time of 8.61, while
Kyra Dillon finished with a collegiate best time of 8.82.
Lily Scheetz was the last Falcon in the event, finishing just a hundredth behind in a time of 8.83.
Kerrigan Lebo had a fantastic performance in leading the Falcons in the 800 Meter Run, finishing with a new indoor personal best time of 2:22.63 to place fifth overall in an exceptionally strong field.
Delaney Turk, stepping down from her normal racing distances, finished with an astounding personal best time of 2:27.68 that easily qualifies her for MACs to place seventh. Freshman teammate
Alleha Glenn finished right behind with a time of 2:28.41 to earn a new season best, while
Meagan Kime rounded out the top group of Falcons with a time of 2:30.59.
Elizabeth Biehl and
Paulina Torres finished right alongside one another with respective times of 2:41.31 and 2:41.34, with
Linnea Haney close behind in a time of 2:44.77.
Abigail Smith also competed in the 800 Meter, finishing with a time of 3:11.32.
Kyra Dillon ran an excellent race in leading the Falcons in the 400 Meter Dash, finishing with an indoor personal best time of 1:06.01 that stands just one hundredth of a second shy of the MAC qualifying standard. Kaitlyn Yeager also competed in the 400 Meter, finishing with a time of 1:20.25.
Lily Scheetz returned from her 60 Meter to finish as the top Falcon in the 200 Meter Dash with an indoor personal best time of 28.82.
Dajea Batchler earned her second personal best of the day with an indoor best time of 29.23, followed closely by
Kara Brown's 29.30 clocking. Multi athlete
Ayva Sechman also made her 200 Meter debut with a time of 31.28.Â
Elana Pineda provided another highlight of the day for the Falcons in the Mile, finishing just off the lead with a second-place finish in a time of 5:21.75. Pineda's time, which easily qualifies her for MACs, places her just a single hundredth of a second outside of the program all-time top ten list.
Delaney Turk followed up her incredible performance in the 800 Meter with another stellar race in the Mile, finishing in fourth place overall with a personal best and MAC qualifying time of 5:23.98.
Katie Gardner rounded out the Falcons' efforts with a personal best time of 6:10.83.Â
The 3000 Meter Run, the final individual event on the track, was also the sight of the Falcons' only event win.
Madison Kimmel won the race with a time of 10:34.61, a new personal best time by a margin of 10 seconds that vaults her from 10th to sixth on the Falcons' all time top ten list. Kimmel ran a remarkable race, remaining extremely consistent for the entirety of the race before blitzing her last 400 meters in a time of 79 seconds to dip under 10:40.
Ava Shirk and
Aubrey Yeager both had fantastic races behind, with the duo qualifying for MACs with respective times of 11:16.70 and 11:22.53, the latter time standing as an enormous personal best for Yeager.
Kenzee Wiker finished close behind with a time of 11:34.70 in her collegiate debut in the 3000 Meter.
Grace Bath and
Elizabeth Anthony also ran a fantastic race together to both set new personal records, with Bath getting the best of her teammate on the final lap en route to a 12:28.32 personal best. Anthony finished right behind with a time of 12:30.83, a personal best by an astounding 14 seconds.
Kelsey Hoffman finished with a personal best time of 13:17.90 and was followed by
Lexi Lapp's 14:40.31 clocking to round out the event.
The 4x400 Meter Relay featured three Falcon teams, with the top team, made up of
Alleha Glenn,
Elana Pineda,
Elizabeth Biehl, and
Kerrigan Lebo, finishing with an impressive time of 4:17.97 thanks to three legs faster than 64 seconds. The second team, made up of
Paulina Torres,
Katie Gardner,
Meagan Kime, and
Linnea Haney, finished with a time of 4:40.87. The Falcons' efforts on the track were concluded by the final team of
Kyra Dillon,
Lily Scheetz,
Abigail Smith, Kaitlyn Yeager, which finished in a time of 4:58.10.Â
In the Field
Events in the field kicked off with the Weight Throw, where
Jaclyn Steenstra finished with a season best distance of 13.31 meters (43' 8").
Lucy Colyer finished with a top distance of 11.91 meters (39' 1"), a mark just adrift of her personal best, while
Ella Axtell finished with an enormous MAC-qualifying personal best distance of 10.84 meters (35' 6.75") to place 10th all-time in program history.
Sidney Avers was the final Falcon in the event, finishing with a mark of 10.19 meters (33' 5.25").
Lucy Colyer followed up her strong performance in the Weight with an even stronger one in the Shot Put, setting a new personal record mark of 11.33 meters (37' 2.25") that improves her standing on the Falcons' all-time top ten list from eighth to fifth.
Ella Axtell finished with an indoor personal best mark of 10.66 meters (34' 11.75") and was followed by
Leah Ritzman's top throw of 9.75 meters (32' 0").Â
Multi athlete
Ayva Sechman was the only Falcon to attempt the Long Jump, where she finished with a new personal best distance of 4.16 meters (13' 7.75") in just her second attempt at the event. In the vertical jumps,
Kara Brown resoundingly surpassed her previous performances in the indoor High Jump with a new indoor personal best time of 1.55 meters (5' 1"), a mark that places her ninth on the program all-time list.
Alivia Ritenour was also the only Falcon to compete in the Pole Vault, finishing with a top clearance of 2.58 meters (8' 5.5").Â
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action next weekend at the Bucknell Invitational & Multi, on January 30 and 31, an extremely competitive two-day meet that will ensure the Falcons benefit from intense competition. The Falcons continue to build towards the Indoor MAC championships at the end of next month, working to refine their performances as their season progresses.Â
