COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Sprinters and jumpers got the 2016-17 Haverford College women's indoor track & field season underway on Saturday at Ursinus' Bow Tie Classic. Even with less entrants than usual, the Fords won three of the six events in which they entered competitors and got 10 scoring performances overall.
The 60 meter hurdles was the event where Haverford entered many of its athletes. The Fords qualified four runners to the final of that event with three runners winning their heats. Taylor Murphy won both her heat and the final with times of 9.61 and 9.62, respectively. She edged out teammate Mairead Ferry, who finished second in the final after winning her heat in a time of 9.66. The Fords swept the top three positions with Tess Oberholtzer winning her heat in a time of 9.95 before placing third in the final. Sophia Nelson placed seventh in the final with a time of 10.33, while Grace Pindzola placed 16th overall in the event.
The Fords also entered a 4x200 meter relay with that team finishing in a time of 1:51.59 to best the rest of the field by nearly eight seconds. Haverford sprinters also had three more finalists in the 60 meter dash. Nelson and Marisa Antinori both won their heats before finishing second and third in the final. Nelson's final time of 8.37 seconds ties her for eighth fastest in school history with two other runners. Pindzola also competed in the 200 meter dash, besting her seed by seven places to finish 12th overall with a mark of 30.19 seconds.
Haverford did have one lone entrant in the mid-distance with Sophie Drew winning the mile in a time of 5:27.86. Drew was seeded eighth coming into the meet but won the event by over five seconds. Elizabeth Reikowski placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 10.33 meters (34 feet, nine inches). That season-opening mark was just over two inches away from her career indoor best.
Along with the men, the women's indoor track & field team will the Haverford Holiday Meet this Thursday at 4:30 p.m. inside the Alumni Field House. That meet will be the final competition for the Fords before the winter break.