LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Falcons competed well across Friday and Saturday at the Bison Challenge and Multi hosted by Bucknell University with incredible performances across the two days. The Falcons' efforts were highlighted by an event win, seven top ten performances, and three new MAC qualifying marks. The Falcons also competed wonderfully against 19 other teams and multiple club programs, many of which were either Division I or Division II, earning 11 top ten placements within a variety of incredibly deep fields. The Falcons were able to demonstrate their abilities amidst intense competition and come away with a number of wonderful performances, giving them great confidence as their season progresses.
The Falcons will return to action next week at the Franklin & Marshall Blue & White Invitational, hosted on February 7th, while looking forward to their month ultimately concluding with the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships.Â
Friday Action
Action on the track began with the 60 Meter Hurdles, with
Kara Brown running a fantastic time of 9.51 to place 13th in the preliminary round. Brown's time stands as her quickest time by a large margin so far this month, drawing near to her 9.48 season best from the fall semester.Â
The Falcons registered their first of two entries on the program top ten lists in the Distance Medley Relay, with the team of
Elana Pineda on the 1200 Meter,
Alleha Glenn on the 400 Meter,
Kerrigan Lebo on the 800 Meter, and
Madison Kimmel on anchor over the 1600 Meter combining for an extremely competitive time of 12:33.22. Their time placed the quartet sixth all time in program history and surpassed their time from last year's MAC championships by five seconds, with all four runners turning in very competitive splits. Pineda led the team off with a time of 3:49 over 1200 meters, handing off narrowly in first, while Glenn split a time of 63 on the 400 Meter leg as she held her own against two other teams. Lebo went out quickly in her 800 Meter leg, following the pace set by the top two teams, and closed strongly to move up into second with a 2:22 split. Kimmel anchored the team with an excellent 5:18 split, even holding the lead for a time in the middle stages of her leg before bringing the team home in third. Â
After the conclusion of the relay, the stage was set for the 200 Meter Dash, with
Arwyn Gruenwald leading the Falcons in the event with a 27.20 clocking that surpasses her time from the same meet last year by two hundredths of a second.
Dajea Batchler finished with a collegiate and indoor best time of 28.72, continuing her notable improvement across the last three competitions.
Kara Brown concluded the Falcons efforts with a time of 29.33.
The final event of the day on the track was the 5000 Meter Run, which the Falcons took full advantage of in registering a new entry on the program all-time list alongside two personal records.
Delaney Turk ran a fantastic race to win the event in a personal record time of 18:06.04, a 25 second improvement over her old best that places the sophomore second in program history. Turk led for much of the race, running a strong and consistent pace for much of the middle kilometers before gradually stretching away from her top competitor over the final few laps, using a final 400m of 1:20 to claim victory.
Ella Swayne finished very close behind in fourth overall with a fantastic time of 18:13.32, a performance very close to her personal best, while
Emmie Battersby finished with yet another personal record time of 19:04.37, this time by a margin of 14 seconds.
In the field,
Lucy Colyer and
Ella Axtell competed in the Shot Put, with both Falcons registering new personal bests in the event. Colyer led the way, finishing with a mark of 11.75 meters (38' 6.75"), earning a ninth-place finish and moving one spot on the all-time top ten list from fifth to fourth. Axtell threw a distance of 10.76 meters (35' 3.75"), a slight improvement on her previous best.
Saturday Track Action
Action on the track for the Falcons kicked off with the Mile, highlighted by
Madison Kimmel's stellar performance with a time of 5:18.14 to place third overall in an extremely deep field. Kimmel ran an extremely patient and consistent race, backing off from the hot early pace and working her way up steadily throughout the field to eventually lead the chase pack's surge after the leader. Kimmel closed strongly to place third overall and finish with the 10th fastest time in the Mile in program history. Freshman
Kenzee Wiker also set a new indoor personal record time in the Mile of 5:41.49, qualifying for MACs.
In the 400 Meter Dash,
Kyra Dillon led a trio of Falcons with an indoor personal best and MAC qualifying time of 1:05.54, an exceptional run for the junior. Freshman Elizbaeth Biehl finished close behind with a time of 1:06.38, a season best, with
Lily Scheetz rounding out the Falcons' efforts in a time of 1:07.61.Â
The Falcons boasted an extremely strong contingent in the 800 Meter Run, led by two top ten finishes from
Elana Pineda and
Kerrigan Lebo. The duo finished just a few steps apart, with Pineda placing atop the duo in sixth with a time of 2:22.20, just a single hundredth shy of her indoor personal record that currently sits seventh in program history.
Kerrigan Lebo also finished just a few hundredths shy of her indoor personal record with a time of 2:22.66 to place eighth, while
Alleha Glenn finished with an indoor personal record time of 2:26.59 with an excellent run. Sophomore
Meagan Kime also finished with an indoor personal best time of 2:28.38, while
Katie Gardner stopped the clock at 2:40.93.
The Falcons next event on the track was the 3000 Meter Run.
Delaney Turk continued her sensational season with another personal record and top ten effort, besting her time from last week's meet by fourth tenths of a second despite having run the 5000 Meter the night before. Turk's time of 10:28.06 improves on her own fourth best performance in program history, placing her fifth overall. Close behind,
Ella Swayne set an enormous personal record time of 10:37.74 with the 5000 Meter also in her legs, placing her seventh in program history.
Ava Shirk continued her remarkable return to form after injury with a collegiate best time of 11:03.68, while
Aubrey Yeager ran a strong race for the Falcons to finish very near her personal best in a time of 11:28.57.Â
The Falcons fielded a single 4x400 Meter Relay team to conclude their participation on the track, with the team of
Lily Scheetz,
Kyra Dillon,
Meagan Kime, and
Elizabeth Biehl finishing with a time of 4:29.58 to place eighth overall.
Saturday Field Action
The Falcons' events in the field were confined to the throws, with the Weight Throw being the only field event taking place on Day Two.
Jaclyn Steenstra finished with a new personal record toss of 13.59 meters (44' 7") that improves upon her own third best mark in program history, while
Lucy Colyer complimented her personal best in the Shot Put on Day One with a personal record in the weight throw of 12.23 meters (40' 1.5") to improve her standing on the program all-time list from seventh to sixth.Â
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action next week at the Franklin & Marshall Blue & White Invitational, hosted on February 7th, while looking forward to their month ultimately concluding with the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor T&F Championships.
