READING, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team had a strong outing during the past two days at the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, concluding two intense sessions of competition with an eighth-place team finish out of 16 teams in the conference. The Falcons finished with 59 points to emerge on the tail end of an intense battle for the third through eighth finishing placements in the conference, with Stevens (third, 74 points), King's (fourth, 67 points), DeSales (fifth, 66 points), Misericordia (sixth, 65 points), and York (seventh, 63 points) all finishing just ahead of the Falcons within a very tight race. The Falcons benefitted from a number of excellent performances, highlighted by a conference-winning gold medal relay, seven top 10 program record performances, and an additional three medal-winning performances across the weekend.
The Falcons will return to action with the onset of the outdoor season in a month at the Danny Curran Invitational, hosted by Widener University on March 27-28th.Â
Friday Events
The Falcons began things strongly with an excellent Distance Medley Relay performance from the team of
Elana Pineda,
Alleha Glenn,
Kerrigan Lebo, and
Madison Kimmel, who collectively turned in a time of 12:28.09 that places fifth in program history. The team finished third place overall behind indoor personal record splits of 3:44.5 from Elana on the opening 1200 Meter leg and a 62.3 clocking from Glenn on the 400 Meter leg, while Lebo's 2:24 and Kimmel's 5:16 marks helped the Falcons to a great bronze medal-winning performance.
In the 60 Meter Hurdles,
Kara Brown finished with a time of 9.60 that sits in line with many of her other performances so far this season. During a day of exceptionally strong performances from the rest of the field, Brown's time placed her ninth in the preliminary round, one spot away from qualifying for the final to be held the next day. In the flat 60 Meter Dash,
Arwyn Gruenwald endured a botched start in her heat to finish in 12th place in the preliminary round with a time of 8.24.
The Falcons earned their second medal of the weekend in short order after the DMR thanks to
Delaney Turk's performance in the 5000 Meter Run. Turk ran a fantastic time of 18:07.67 that nearly matches her personal record amidst a grueling performance, allowing her to improve upon her seeded placement of fourth to earn a medal in third. Turk led a chasing duo with one other racer around the track for nearly the entire race before gradually pulling away from fourth during the second half of the race, ensuring her third place finish behind a 40.3 final lap.
Ella Swayne finished with a time of 18:43.65 for the Falcons to finish in seventh place and earn two team points, while
Emmie Battersby finished with a time of 19:24.79.
Aubrey Yeager also finished with a time of 20:17.23 and was followed by
Allison Keller's 20:50.57 clocking.
The Falcons' 4x200 Meter Relay team, made up of
Arwyn Gruenwald,
Kaitlyn Albrecht,
Dajea Batchler, and
Lily Scheetz, finished with a season best time of 1:51.43 to finish just outside of scoring in 10th, finishing the night on the track.
The one and only event that saw Falcon participation in the field on Friday night was the Weight Throw, which turned out to be an excellent event thanks to three new entries on the top ten list and four personal records.
Jaclyn Steenstra led the way for the Falcons with a top throw of 13.87 meters (45' 6"), an improvement that allowed her to place seventh despite a predicted seeding of ninth, earning two team points. Steenstra's mark improves her own third-best performance in program history.
Lucy Colyer also finished with a huge personal record of 13.02 meters (42' 9"), blowing away her previous best of 12.23 meters (40' 1.5") to jump from sixth to fifth in program history. Colyer finished 11th overall in the competition.
Ella Axtell improved upon her own personal record by two centimeters, finishing with a top throw of 11.24 meters (36' 11") to improve upon her own ninth-best mark in program history.
Sidney Avers also finished with a new personal record in a mark of 10.81 meters (35' 6").
Saturday Action
Action on the track began with the Mile, which saw
Madison Kimmel set her third personal record this season in the event behind a 5:17.16 clocking that allowed her to place seventh. Kimmel ran a very patient race, moving up steadily throughout the field after opening up her race in 10th through the halfway mark, with her new personal record time improving on her own 10th-best mark in program history.
Kenzee Wiker also ran a phenomenal race to finish with a collegiate best time of 5:31.40, giving Kimmel company through the first half before following her teammate's surge through the field.
The Falcons benefitted from two very strong performances in the 800 Meter Run thanks to
Elana Pineda and
Kerrigan Lebo's fantastic runs. Pineda finished in second place overall with a time of 2:19.49, her fastest time on a flat indoor track by nearly three seconds, to earn a silver medal, the Falcons' highest finish in an individual event across the weekend. Pineda ran a fantastic race, running cautiously in third and fourth before using a great final lap to convincingly surge into second. Lebo ran a similarly smart tactical race, remaining patient as she sat in sixth place at halfway before moving up into fourth and very nearly third by the finish behind an indoor personal record time of 2:20.98. Lebo's time places her sixth all-time in program history, an improvement on her current placement of eighth.
Kenzee Wiker also ran the 800 Meter for the Falcons, going out very quickly in a first 400 meter split of 1:09.0 before finishing with a time of 2:38.06.
Arwyn Gruenwald was the sole Falcon competitor in the 200 Meter Dash, returning well from the 60 Meter to place seventh and earn two team points behind a time of 27.11 that sits less than a tenth off her season best.
Delaney Turk turned in a fantastic double for the Falcons with her performance in the 3000 Meter Run that saw her place sixth with a time of 10:27.13, her fastest time on a flat indoor track. Turk spent much of the early stages of the race in a cautious position before moving up through the field during the second half, overtaking a competitor into sixth with just 400 meters to go and holding her position with an incredible 39.2 final 200 meter.
Ella Swayne also ran an excellent race for the Falcons to finish with a time of 10:44.71, placing 11th overall.
Emmie Battersby finished with a new personal record time of 11:01.06, finishing right alongside the winner of her heat with an exceptional 39.3 final lap.
Ava Shirk also raced the 3000 Meter for the Falcons, finishing with a time of 11:34.49.
The Falcons earned their highest finish of the weekend in the 4x800 Meter Relay, capturing a sensational first place finish and gold medal with a time of 9:40.66. The Falcon team of
Alleha Glenn,
Madison Kimmel,
Elana Pineda, and
Kerrigan Lebo each split remarkable times on their legs, especially considering that each racer had multiple races on their legs going into the competition. The Falcons turned in very consistent splits, with Glenn splitting a time of 2:26, Kimmel a time of 2:25, and Pineda's 2:23 and Lebo's 2:24 all on their own as the gap between their nearest competitors began to widen. The Falcons' finishing time of 9:40.66 places third all-time in program history.
In the 4x400 Meter Relay, the Falcon team of
Lily Scheetz,
Elizabeth Biehl,
Kyra Dillon, and
Meagan Kime finished with a time of 4:20.28, with team-best splits of 64.4 and 64.9 from Dillon and Kime respectively leading the team. The Falcons placed ninth in the event to conclude their efforts on the track, just one position away from scoring.
In the field,
Lucy Colyer turned in an excellent performance for the Falcons in the Shot Put with a top throw of 11.50 meters (37' 8.75"), placing fifth to earn four team points.
Ella Axtell finished in 10th with a mark of 10.48 meters (34' 4.5"), while
Leah Ritzman threw for a distance of 9.42 meters (30' 10.75").
Kara Brown returned from disappointment in the 60 Meter Hurdles to finish with an incredible overperformance in the High Jump, placing fourth overall in the conference with a top jump of 1.51 meters (4' 11"). Brown's second-time clearance at that height, which sits four centimeters below her season best, was enough to ensure her fourth-place finish.
Kaitlyn Albrecht had an excellent competition to tie her season best height of 1.47 meters (4' 9.75") on her third attempt at the height, placing 10th overall.Â
Alivia Ritenour had a similar overperformance to Brown in the Pole Vault, finishing in fifth place overall to earn four team points with a season best jump of 2.85 meters (9' 4.25"). Ritenour's season best performance, combined with two stronger entrants no-heighting after entering the competition at higher heights, enabled her to exceed her predicted seed placement by several positions. After needing three attempts to clear her opening height of 2.55 meters, Ritenour cleared both 2.75 meters and a season best 2.85 meters on her first jumps before bowing out at 2.95 meters (9' 8.25") to conclude a wonderful competition.Â
Up Next
The Falcons will return to action with the onset of the outdoor season in a month at the Danny Curran Invitational, hosted by Widener University on March 27-28th.
