COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Haverford College Indoor Track & Field team competed in the Frank Colden Invitational Saturday inside the Floy Lewis Bakes Center on the campus of Ursinus, with an impressive showing as some school top 10s and personal bests fell on the track.
Junior Ella Fleming was certainly the busiest athlete of the day, as the Melrose, Mass. native competed in three of the five women's pentathlon events during the meet. Fleming started out in the pentathlon's 60 meter hurdles, placing 11th with a time of 13.20. Next up for the junior was pentathlon high jump, as Fleming lept 1.32 meters (4 feet, 4 inches), placing sixth overall in her first time competing in the event during the indoor season. Lastly in the pentathlon shot put, Fleming tossed the shot put 5.43 meters (17 feet, 9.75 inches) to place 13th overall.
Taking a look at the 60 meter prelims, Nadine Tang finished 13th overall in the dash with a time of 8.45, achieving a new personal record.
The Fords had three athletes race in the Women's 200 meters, with Olivia D'Aulerio finishing fourth overall with a time of 26.56, narrowly missing her personal best of 26.26 that currently sits as the fourth-fastest time in program history. Adriana Cruz-Soto earned 16th place with a time of 28.28, while Tang completed the sprint with a season-best time of 28.98 to finish 20th overall.
The 200 meters wasn't the only event D'Aulerio competed in, as the sophomore also ran in the 400 meters. D'Aulerio raced to a blazing time of 58.93, securing second place with an indoor personal best. The time from D'Aulerio was good for 46th fastest in Division III and is currently the second-fastest all-time mark in Haverford history. Joining D'Aulerio in the 400 meters was Anna Berry, who claimed ninth place in the dash with a time of 1:04.66. Carly Priest was third Haverford runner in the event, and completed the race in 15th place with a time of 1:07.98.
Up next for the Fords was the 800 meters, where senior Isabel Thornberry took the crown. The magnificent time of 2:22.24 was the 95th fastest time so far in Division III, and marked a season-best pace for Thornberry. Running alongside Thornberry in the race were Dominique Monroy (6th, 2:30.23), Anastasia Jaycobs (14th, 2:36.86) and Sophia Furman (17th, 2:40.63), with the latter earning a new personal-record in the event.
In the Women's 1000 meter run, Jessie Hausman claimed first place, after completing the event with a time of 3:22.79, notching the 63rd-fastest time in Division III this season. Her teammate Judy Xie placed fourth overall in the dash with a time of 3:45.17. Personal records were broken in the mile run, as Savannah Shaw (4th, 5:30.10) and Poppy Chrisman (11th, 5:52.31) both collected personal achievements in the race.
The longest distance at the meet was the 5000 meter run that saw three more Haverford athletes compete. Krysta Nichols led the way for the Fords, finishing in sixth place with a time of 20:12.75. Just behind Nichols was Julianna Watson, who crossed the finish line in 20:23.12, to take home ninth-place. Her teammate Audrey Carter earned a new personal-record in the event, racing to 14th place with a time of 21:02.21.
Senior Alice Creed competed in the pole vault competition, earning third place after clearing a height of 2.90 meters (9 feet, 6.25 inches) in a crowded field.
In the throwing pit, Rachitha Kumar launched the shot put 7.09 meters (23 feet, 3.25 inches) to claim 36th place.
Haverford fielded two teams for the Women's 4x400 meter relay. The team of D'Aulerio, Cruz-Soto, Monroy, and Thornberry raced to a second-place finish, earning a season-best time of 4:14.26. Another season-best time was earned in the very same relay, as the team of Berry, Priest, Jaycobs, and Shaw netted a time of 4:22.36, to slot into fifth place.
Next up for the Fords, is the Fastrack National Invitational on Friday, February 9, inside the familiar confines of the Ocean Breeze Complex on Staten Island, N.Y. The competition is slated to begin at noon.