HAVERFORD, Pa. – A record breaking day in the field events and numerous top five finishes on the track highlighted the second day of competition for the Haverford College women's indoor track & field team at the McElligott Invitational. The Fords' field all-time top 10 saw four individuals move up the career list, while the runners tallied 11 top five finishes on the track.
Headlining the day's update to the record books was a huge personal best throw of 12.12 meters (39'9¼") from Claire Sargent. The freshman's toss improved her previous best by over two feet as she now sits second in the Haverford record book, just under two feet behind Jackie Freund's '10 throw (41'5") during the 2010 season. Sargent was third overall in the event. Juanita St. Thomas-Grimes (9.37 meters) and Natasha Stanley (9.03 meters) finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in the shot put.
Haverford also had two addendums to the triple jump record book. Elizabeth Reikowski won the event with a leap of 10.46 meters (34'4"). She edged out teammate and runner up Carolyn Oehrig's personal best of 10.29 meters (33'9¼"). Reikowski and Oehrig are now ranked seventh and 10th overall in school history in the triple jump. Kimberly Haughton's leap (9.15 meters) gave the Fords three finishers in the top five of the event.
The final addition to the indoor record book came in pole vault. Freshman Mairead Ferry was just the 10th jumper in school history to contest the event. She cleared 2.45 meters (8'0½") in her first collegiate meet entering the event and already ranks seventh in school history. Haverford's day in the field also included eighth and ninth place finishes from Haughton (4.45 meters) and Robin Chernow (4.33 meters) in the long jump.
On the track, the Fords got an individual win from Brittany Steele in the 200 meters with a time of 27.44. Steele topped Elizabethtown's Kelsey Detweiler by 45-hundredths of a second. Steele, the school record holder in the 60 meters, was third overall in that event on Saturday with a time of 8.08 seconds. Stanley (8.69) added a sixth place finish to the 60 meter field.
The Fords also recorded a pair of runner up finishes on the track from Nora Weathers (mile) and Ferry (60 meter hurdles). Weathers finished her mile in a time of 5:16.94, placing behind Swarthmore's Sarah Nielsen (5:06.21). Haverford put a total of 12 competitors in the mile event. Kelley Riffenburgh (5:17.12) and Nicole Giannetti (5:17.54) added two more top five finishes, placing third and fifth. Katherine Greifeld (5:23.29) ran to a ninth place finish in the field.
In the 60 meter hurdles, Ferry was edged by just 33-hundredths of a second. Her personal best time of 9.89 keeps her fifth all-time in the College's record books. Oehrig added a personal best on the track with her time of 10.12 seconds. That mark won her individual heat and keeps her eighth all-time in the school record book.
Haverford added its final two individual top five finishes in the 400 meters with Yue Xiang (1:06.78) and Amy Zamora (1:07.40) finishing third and fourth in that race. Xiang won her heat on her way to a third place finish. The Fords also entered seven runners in the 800 meters. That race was headlined by a 12th place finish from Amelia Keyser-Gibson in a time of 2:31.41.
Haverford entered two relays in the 4x200 to start off Saturday morning's events. The Haverford "A" relay finished in a time of 1:51.98 and placed third overall. Haverford's "B" relay was fifth overall with a mark of 1:57.62.
The women's indoor track and field team will now close out the month of February with two home meets. The Keogh Invitational (Feb. 21) will be the final home meet of the regular season, while Haverford will also serve as host of the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1).