STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Haverford College women's indoor track & field team took a small squad up to Staten Island for the Fasttrack National Invitational on Friday evening. The team continues to build on previous performance as they aim to peak at conference championships, which is slated for just 15 days from now.
The spotlight was once again on the duo of Olivia D'Aulerio and Jahsaiah Moses. D'Aulerio moved up to second on Haverford's all-time list for the 400-meter dash with a blazing-fast performance. The first-year sprinter and dual-sport athlete continues to firmly imprint her name in the history books. Coming into the Ocean Breeze track and field Facility, D'Aulerio sat fourth on the list with a mark of 59.97. She bettered that time by 0.8 seconds, clocking a 59.17.
In a deep field, D'Aulerio finished 16th out of 84 runners. There's no telling what events the sprinter will compete in come conferences. Teams will take points wherever they can get them but with D'Aulerio in the top ten of the 60m, 200m, and 400m, it's difficult to know where she can contribute as a triple is unlikely. However, D'Aulerio sits near the top of the conference, second in the conference in the 400 and third in the 200 meters, so that illustrious double is certainly at play. Either way, expect the speedster to be plenty busy come conference championship time.
That spotlight later moved over to Moses, as she handled things for the Fords in the 200-meter distance, crossing the line in 26.55. If there are questions as to who in the Centennial can challenge D'Aulerio in the 200-meter, look no further than Moses. The senior's time was good enough for a personal best and moved her up to second in the Centennial Conference and sixth on Haverford's all-time list. Her previous best was 26.97, which was set just a week ago at the Tufts Cupid Challenge.
Also taking part in the 200-meter dash were Isabel Thornberry and Shahla Mukhtar. Thornberry ran a personal best of 27.55 in the race. However, her splash came in 400 meters. Thornberry has improved on her 400-meter time in each attempt this year, much like she did in the 2022 indoor season. In track & field, it's important to peak at the right time and Thornberry seems to be doing just that. Her 1:01.80 moved her up to ninth in the conference.
Mukhtar ran a personal best in the 200 meters, running sub-30 for the first time in her time at Haverford. The junior crossed the finish line in 29.30 to beat her previous best by 0.9 seconds.
With their performances in the longer distances, it's easy to forget the consistency in which Moses and D'Aulerio are running in the 60-meter dash. Moses clocked 8.17, running under 8.2 in every meet this season. D'Aulerio finished right behind her with a time of 8.24. The 60-meter dash usually warms athletes up for their longer sprints later in the meet, which proves true for the two Haverford sprinters.
Carly Priest and Rachel November handled the honors of running four laps around the track, competing in the 800-meter run. Priest ran a new personal best of 2:29.67, three seconds faster than her previous best of 2:32.69. It was Priest's third 800m run of the season and she has lowered her time in each of those attempts. Rachel November ran 2:33.72 to finish 57th out of a stacked 83-athlete field at Ocean Breeze.
After a stellar 5,000-meter turn in Boston, Katie Hirsche finished in the top ten for the 3,000 meters. The sophomore placed sixth, running 10:23.83, fresh off her first sub-18 performance in the 5,000 meters last week. That 10:23.83 places Hirsche fifth in the Centennial Conference. Krysta Nichols was also in action, finishing in 11:28.73.
Audrey Carter, Dominique Monroy, Annemarie Wood, and Hedy Goodman made up the Fords' distance medley relay team on Friday. The quartet passed the baton around the track in 14:19.14.
The Fords now return home with plenty of performances and personal bests to be happy about and to build on. With conference championships coming up in just two weeks, the Fords will host the Keogh Invitational on February 18 before they head to Lancaster to battle for medals.
The Keogh meet is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Haverford throwers will head to Ursinus the day before (Feb. 17) to compete, with that event starting at 4 p.m.