COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Haverford College women's track & field team came through with an array of impressive performances on Sunday to finish in second place at the Centennial Conference outdoor championships hosted by Ursinus College.
Entering the final day of competition in second place, the Fords added to their point total with a strong performance by the 4x100 relay team. The quartet of sophomore Sedona Murphy and seniors Hannah Davis, Emma Kornetsky and Katie Bigay raced to a third-place finish in 50.36 seconds.
The freshmen duo of Fiona Hendry and Nora Weathers helped the cause with a pair of career-best efforts in the 1,500-meter run. Hendry finished in 4 minutes, 38.99 to take sixth and Weathers followed in seventh (4:42.59).
Weathers (fourth, 2:17.86) also combined with senior Cara Keifer (sixth, 2:21.17) and sophomore Katie Balmer (seventh, 2:25.43) to deliver 10 team points in the 800.
Davis accounted for Haverford's highest finish of the day with a second-place finish in the 400m hurdles. The senior set a new career-best time for the third consecutive outing as she finished in 1:03.72.
Hendry completed her stellar day on the track with yet another career-best performance. The freshman placed third in the 5,000 with a time of 17:38.37. Sophomore Kelley Riffenburgh also ran well in the event as she shattered her previous personal-best time by almost 13 seconds to finish fifth in 17:51.73.
Seniors Kornetsky and Meeks registered points off the track to contribute to the Fords' push for a top finish in the standings. Kornetsky's career-best distance of 10.79 meters (35 feet, 5 inches) was good for fifth in the triple jump and Meeks took sixth in the shot put.
The final scoring event of the meet gave Haverford one final chance to shine. The Fords' 4x400 relay team of Murphy, Kornetsky, Hope Rainey and Davis edged Muhlenberg's squad by a little over a second for third. The place difference was meaningful as it elevated Haverford (93) into second place by half of a point over the Mules (92.50). Johns Hopkins took the team title with 274.50 points.
The final day of action closed out a memorable meet for the Fords as the team swept the top three spots in the 3,000m steeplechase and set a new school record in the 4x800 on Saturday.
Sunday's results also give Haverford another point in the final standings of the race for the Hood Trophy as Swarthmore finished in fifth (70.50). The Fords clinched a victory in this year's friendly competition between the two schools on April 27.
Several members of Haverford's squad will attempt to qualify for the Division III outdoor championships by competing on May 13 in the Tuppeny Meet hosted by Swarthmore College that will take place this year at Widener University.