HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College women's track and field team began the 2021-22 indoor season with its annual Haverford Holiday Meet on Saturday afternoon inside the Alumni Field House, returning to indoor competition at home for the first time in 651 days. The Fords faced off with a field of competitors from Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and Widener.
As the lone team in the 4x200 relay, it was a good time for the women's team to work on handoffs and shake out the legs for other events later in the afternoon. The relay team composed of Helen Moniz, Jahsaiah Moses, Isabel Thornberry, and Naomi Fukuda were able to break two minutes, finishing with a time of 1:54.69. Haverford looked strong around the turns, and the handoffs were clean, a sign of good things as they move to other meets.
Griffin Kaulbach kicked things off against outside competition for the Fords with her win in the mile. The event saw two heats, with Kaulbach running in the first and winning convincingly, finishing in 5:20.70. Lauren Tanel placed second in the event with a time of 5:38.29, and Hannah Yeakey finished third in 5:38.86. In heat two, Annemarie Wood placed third with a time of 6:17.02, good enough for ninth overall.
The meet then moved on to the sprinting events. First up was the 60-meter dash, where Fukuda was the highest finisher for the Fords. Her time of 8.60 was good enough for a second-place finish. Alice Creed finished the event in third place, running 9.04, and not too far behind her was Moniz with a time of 9.17. Creed also impressed in the pole vault, notching the event title with a mark of 2.75 meters (9 feet, .25 inches). That mark matches the sixth-best mark in program history.
Ella Fleming was the only athlete for the Fords in the 400m dash, and she was able to finish second in the event with a time of 1:08.27. Moving onto middle distance, Rachel November placed the highest for Haverford in the 800 meters. November finished in 2:33.94 while Yeakey (2:35.93), Lauren Tanel (2:42.14), and Emmeline Riendeau (2:48.84) rounded out the performances for the Fords in the event.
In the final event of the day, the 4x400m relay, the women's team was able to bring an end to a successful day with their second-place performance. Finishing right behind the winners, Swarthmore (A), was the team composed of Fleming, Moses, Thornberry, and November, as that squad notched a time of 4:19.40. Haverford sat in third place for half the race, but after a strong showing by the middle legs, they were able to overtake Swarthmore (B) in time for the crucial anchor legs.
The Fords will now take a break for the final week of classes and exams before entering the winter holiday period. Indoor Track & Field action will return on Saturday, January 15, 2022, with the TCNJ Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island. Haverford's next home meet, the McElligott Invitational, is slated for January 29 at 10:30 a.m.