LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team participated in two different competitions across Friday night, with the majority of the team heading to Bucknell University for the Bucknell Tune-Up. A select group of Falcons also travelled to Penn State University for the Penn State Tune-Up in order to take advantage of the deep fields, intense competition, and banked track. Across both meets, the Falcons earned three new entries on the program's all-time top ten list alongside three new MAC qualifications.
The Falcons will compete next weekend, across both Friday and Saturday, February 27-28, at the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. Indoor MACs will serve as the pinnacle of the Falcons' indoor season, providing most of the Falcons with their last opportunity to register marks and new best performances at the first meet with team scoring for the entire season.
Bucknell Tune-Up
On the Track
Kara Brown opened the action on the track for the Falcons in the 60 Meter Hurdles, running a time of 9.55 that sits just six hundredths off her season best to place seventh in the preliminary round. Brown qualified for the final, which she completed in an identical time of 9.55 to move up one spot, placing sixth.
Dajea Batchler was the only Falcon to compete in the flat 60 Meter Dash, equaling her personal best time of 8.43.
In the Mile,
Kenzee Wiker led the Falcons with a time of 5:38.15. Wiker was followed by fellow freshman
Emmie Battersby, who finished with a MAC-qualifying personal best time of 5:41.05.
Samantha Mynio completed the Mile in a time of 6:09.00 and was followed by an enormous personal best from
Elizabeth Anthony, who clocked a time of 6:18.40.
Kelsey Hoffman followed with a time of 6:39.79, with
Lexi Lapp concluding the Falcons' efforts in a time of 7:10.63.
The Falcons had a number of strong performances in the 400 Meter Dash, with
Lily Scheetz turning in a new personal record time by nearly three seconds and qualifying for MACs with an indoor personal best time of 1:04.75.
Kyra Dillon also finished with an indoor personal record time of 1:05.07, as
Elizabeth Biehl followed in another indoor personal record of 1:06.30.
Kaitlynn Yeager finished with a season best time of 1:17.17.
Alleha Glenn led the Falcons in the 800 Meter Run, finishing just a few tenths off her indoor personal best with a time of 2:26.66.
Meagan Kime also finished with a time of 2:32.10 and was followed by an enormous indoor personal record effort of 2:35.72 from
Paulina Torres.
Katie Gardner finished just shy of her indoor best in a time of 2:40.30 and was followed immediately by
Linnea Haney's indoor personal best 2:41.48, her fifth straight improvement in the event.
Abigail Smith also finished with a time of 3:11.67, a time nearly identical to her season best.
Four Falcons raced in the 200 Meter Dash, with each of them finishing aside one another in the final finishing order.
Dajea Batchler led the charge with an indoor personal best of 28.15, just barely eclipsing indoor personal best clockings from
Lily Scheetz (28.20) and
Kara Brown (28.21).
Kaitlyn Albrecht also finished with an indoor personal best in a time of 28.62.Â
The Falcons' efforts on the track concluded with an event win in the 4x400 Meter Relay, with the team of
Kyra Dillon,
Elizabeth Biehl,
Meagan Kime, and
Alleha Glenn finishing with a time of 4:24.72 to top the field.
In the Field
Action in the field opened in the Weight Throw, with
Jaclyn Steenstra finishing just outside of her personal best with a top throw of 13.60 meters (44' 7.5").
Lucy Colyer also finished just adrift of her best with a time of 11.93 meters (39' 1.75").
Ella Axtell finished with a new personal record mark of 11.22 meters (36' 0.75") that improves her standing on the Falcons' all-time list from 10th to ninth and was followed by
Sidney Avers' top throw of 10.03 meters (32' 11").
The Falcons had two compete in the High Jump, with
Kara Brown and
Kaitlyn Albrecht finishing with identical heights of 1.45 meters (4' 9"). Both cleared that height on their first attempt.
Lucy Colyer led the Falcons in the Shot Put with a top throw of 11.15 meters (36' 7"), followed closely by
Ella Axtell's top throw of 10.69 meters (35' 1").
Leah Ritzman also threw for a top distance of 9.78 meters (32' 1").
Penn State Tune-Up
The Falcons had a number of stellar performances at Penn State, highlighted by two top ten performances and an additional MAC qualifying performance amidst incredible competition from a number of Division I and Division II schools on a banked track. Action on the track began in the Mile, with
Madison Kimmel earning a personal record time of 5:17.89 that improves on her own 10th-best performance in program history. Kimmel ran an exceptionally consistent race that mirrors many of her mile races so far this season, spending the entire race running laps just under 40 seconds in order to dip under 5:20 by the final lap.
Ella Swayne also raced the Mile, finishing with an excellent MAC-qualifying time of 5:29.26 to set a new personal record by five seconds.Â
Perhaps the most impressive performance on the day for the Falcons came from
Elana Pineda, who ran a fantastic race in the 800 Meter Run to set a new indoor personal record time by over three seconds. Pineda went out quickly in a large pack, but broke away convincingly from her competitors on the third lap with a searing 33.44 split that allowed her to forge a three second lead on the rest of the field. Pineda carried on strongly to the finish to dip under 2:20 for the first time ever and additionally under 2:19, clocking a stellar time of 2:18.94 to place third all-time in program history.
Kerrigan Lebo ran a very good race despite battling illness, turning in a time of 2:23.12 thanks to exceptionally consistent splits and a measured race.
Up Next
The Falcons will compete next weekend, across both Friday and Saturday, February 27-28, at the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. Indoor MACs will serve as the pinnacle of the Falcons' indoor season, providing most of the Falcons with their last opportunity to register marks and new best performances at the first meet with team scoring for the entire season.
