COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Haverford College women's indoor track & field team competed in the season-opening Ursinus Bow Tie Invitational on Friday afternoon, competing in 11 events inside the Floy Bakes Track Center on the campus of Ursinus College.
Olivia D'Aulerio began her sophomore season qualifying for the finals in the 60 meter prelims with a time of 8.1 seconds. The Chesterfield, N.J. product unfortunately committed a false-start in the finals, thus ending her participation in the event. First-year runner Nadine Tang just missed moving onto the final round herself, finishing her first collegiate event with a time of 8.69 in the prelim round.In the unseeded 60 meter race, Ella Fleming crossed the finish line in 8.94 tabbing 11th place for the Fords.
The 200m dash saw two Haverford rookies compete, as Adriana Cruz-Soto captured 22nd place, with a time of 28.37. Her teammate Tang, claimed a time of 29.77, good for 36th place overall.
Cruz-Soto was the lone competitor for Haverford in the 400 meters, notching a time of 1:06.73, securing 15th place. The 800 meters saw five competitors from the Scarlet and Black compete, as D'Aulerio and Isabel Thornberry claimed places one and two in the race, respectively.
D'Aulerio's time of 2:23:93 currently ranks 13th-best in Division III, which is the first time she participated in the event in the indoor season. Thornberry's blazing time of 2:24:82 has earned 17th best in Division III currently.
Newcomer Anastasia Jaycobs clocked a seventh-place finish with a time 2:34:28, while Theresa Haupt (21st, 2:44:96) and Judy Xie (26th, 2:53:86) participated in the event for the first time in their careers.
Another newcomer, Claire Parsons, was the sole competitor in the 3000m, grabbing 10th place, crossing the finish line in 13:31:02. In the long jump, Fleming secured 17th place, leaping 4.65 meters (15 feet, three inches) in her long jump debut. Senior Alice Creed placed seventh in pole vault, soaring 2.90 meters (nine feet, six inches), falling just short of capturing a new-personal best in the event.
In the throwing pit, sophomore Sarah Wilcher took home second place overall, tossing the shot put 12.28 meters (40 feet, three inches), establishing the 23rd best distance in Division III so far this season. The magnificent throw marked a new personal-best and a third all-time individual mark in school history as she became the first Haverford athlete since 2018 to clear the 40 foot mark.
Sophomore Rachitha Kumar joined Wilcher in the event, throwing 6.99 meters (22 feet, 11 inches), earning 29th place in her debut.
The shot put was not the only event Wilcher competed in, as Wilcher placed third in the weight throw, tossing a distance of 13.06 meters (42 feet, 10 inches), good for third all-time in school history.
The Bow Tie Invitational was the first and only event for the Women's Indoor Track and Field team in December of 2023. The team will now get some time off to complete the 2023 semester, and celebrate winter holidays.
Haverford College Women's Track and Field will return Saturday, January 20, 2024, for the Collegeville Invitational right back at the Floy Bakes Track Center on the campus of Ursinus College, with the start of the meet slated for 10 a.m.