HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's indoor track & field team claimed three individual championships at the Seamus McElligott Invitational inside the Alumni Field House on Saturday. Those top tier performances also ranked among the best during this Division III indoor track & field season.
Katie Sullivan won the 800 meters on Saturday with a time of 2:17.78. Already ranked among the top 10 runners in school history in the event, Sullivan's new personal best moves her up to fifth in the school's record books. She is ranked ninth in Division III this season as of press time with her new mark. Sarah Wade (2:33.42), Maggie Heffernan (2:34.16), and Sophie Drew (2:34.37) finished in the 10th through 12th place slots.
Amelia Keyser-Gibson broke into the school's record book with her championship run in the 5,000 meters. Crossing the line in a time of 18:03.65, Keyser-Gibson is now ranked 10th in school history for the event, while today's time places her 17th among her Division III competition so far this season. MaryKate Cavanaugh (19:07.15) was the runner-up for the event, while Molly Allen, Julia Smith, and Alison Love were all among the top eight finishers in Saturday's distance race.
Reigning Centennial Conference Indoor Field Athlete of the Week Claire Sargent continued her great start to the season with her third win of the year in shot put. Today's best throw of 12.03 meters topped her nearest competitor by just over a foot. Also in the field events, Elizabeth Reikowski's long jump of 4.71 meters led the team and placed her fifth overall. Kerry Quigley's best leap of 4.67 meters placed her sixth, while Emily Williams was ninth. As the sole Haverford competitor in the triple jump, Grace Mathis' best mark of 9.68 meters netted her a seventh place finish.
A strong near personal best from Nora Weathers in the mile landed her the runner-up spot in a time of 5:04.94. A national qualifier in the event a season ago, Weathers was topped only by an unattached runner and finished with the sixth best time in the indoor mile as of press time. Nicole Giannetti (5:17.15) and Heffernan (5:22.77) were fourth and fifth in the mile race.
In the sprints, Brittany Steele finished with a runner-up to her credit in the 60 meters (8.10) as she was just clipped by three-hundredths of a second. She was also Haverford's top finisher with a fourth place showing in the 200 meters (27.93). Taylor Murphy came away with a third place finish in the 60 meter hurdles (9.60) and was sixth in the 60 meters (8.32). Yue Xiang (seventh in the 400 meters) and Tess Oberholtzer (10th in the 200 meters) added two more runners with top 10 finishes on the afternoon.
Women's indoor track & field will next have a split weekend when it returns to the competition. The Fords will divide up their athletes between the Villanova Invitational in Staten Island, New York and the Frank Cohen Invitational at Ursinus. Both of those meets are set for Saturday, February 6.