GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah Women's Track and Field team concluded their season today at the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finishing out day three of three with a number of standout performances. The Falcons finished in eighth in the team race with a total of 68 points, an exceptionally high point total for an eighth-place finish in what ended up being a furiously competitive team race. The Falcons finished very close to Widener (sixth, 72 points) and Stevens (seventh, 78.5 points) while amassing an enormous gap back to FDU-Florham (37 points) in ninth. The Falcons benefited from one top ten performances, one bronze medal, and six other scoring performances on a beautiful day of track and field at Starry Field at the new Douglas K. Miller Outdoor Track.
 
Action on the track began in the 1500 Meter Run, which featured an excellent scoring performance from Madison Kimmel with a sixth place finish in a time of 4:50.11. Kimmel ran a very ambitious race, going out at an incredibly quick pace by splitting 2:31 through the first 800 meters and holding on to her sixth place position until the finish. Kimmel's quick start was rewarded with a personal record time by a margin of three seconds, easily supplanting her previous best three performances, all of which were 4:53. Kenzee Wiker also finished with a personal best in her final race of the season, placing second in the first heat a time of 5:01.48.
 
Next on the track for the Falcons was the 800 Meter Run, easily the Falcons' best event of the day. All three Falcons had wonderful performances, especially after their excellent performances in yesterday's preliminary rounds. Elana Pineda led the charge for the Falcons with a third-place finish and bronze medal earning performance in a time of 2:15.48, a personal record by two seconds for the sophomore that places her seventh in program history. Pineda went out at a cautious pace with the front of the pack, splitting her first lap in a time of 68.56 before following the incredible surge of pace from the leaders and splitting a time of 66.92 for her second 400 meters. Pineda in third was followed by Kerrigan Lebo in fourth, with the Falcon senior finishing with her second-ever time under 2:20 to place fourth with a comfortable gap behind. Sophomore Meagan Kime also ran her second-fastest time ever with an incredible return from yesterday's preliminary round, stopping the clock at 2:21.07 to comfortably place fifth. The Falcons earned 15 team points from the 800 Meter, their most productive event of the weekend.
 
Kyra Dillon continued the finals performances for the Falcons in the 400 Meter Hurdles, earning her second personal best of the weekend in another one second improvement with a time of 1:07.35. Dillon finished in sixth overall to earn three team points, outpacing the two competitors behind amidst a furious dash to the line by a very competitive top five. Dillon caps off her weekend at Outdoor MACs with a cumulative personal record improvement of 2.34 seconds in her first collegiate season of track and field as a junior.
 
The Falcons also had a quartet of athletes start in the 5000 Meter Run, with Delaney Turk returning from her silver medal in the 10000 Meter Run to earn top honors for the Falcons in fourth place. Turk ran a fantastic time of 17:47.16 within a remarkably competitive field, spending nearly the entire race alone after the race was broken up by a quick tempo being set up from by the leaders. Turk's nearly solo time of 17:47.16 stands as her second fastest time ever despite having just raced the 10000 Meter two days before. Madison Kimmel, who returned from her stellar result in the 1500 Meter, was the next Falcon in a time of 19:03.54 to place 16th. Freshman Emmie Battersby returned from her bronze medal in the steeplechase to take 20th in a time of 19:08.36, while Ava Shirk earned a season best time of 19:23.46 to place 22nd.
 
The Falcons' efforts on the track concluded with the 4x400 Meter Relay, where the Falcon ran a season best time of 4:09.84 to place seventh. The Falcons were led off by a 1:04 split from Elizabeth Biehl before benefiting from splits of 1:02 from Alleha Glenn and 1:01 from both Elana Pineda and Kerrigan Lebo, who returned from the 800 Meter just an hour before. 
 
In the field, the Falcons' top result came in the form of Lucy Colyer's fifth place finish in the Shot Put with a top throw of 11.79 meters (38' 8.25") very near her best. Ella Axtell also finished with a top throw of 9.86 meters (32' 4.25") and was followed by Leah Ritzman's top throw of 9.57 meters (31' 4.75").
 
The other field event with Falcon representation on Day Three was the Javelin Throw, where freshman Seneca Mikesell finished with a personal record mark of 31.44 meters (103' 2") thanks to her third and final throw of the preliminary round. Mikesell's throw earned her a right to three more attempts as the ninth and final qualifier to the final, where she submitted another throw over 30 meters to place ninth for the Falcons.
 
For most of the Falcons, these Middle Atlantic Conference championships mark the culmination of their season. Several Falcons may participate in a last chance meet in the weeks to come in order to take advantage of their fitness to register one more mark before concluding their seasons.

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