ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford College women's outdoor track & field team claimed two individual championships and finished third overall with 114 points at the 2015 Centennial Conference Championships. The Fords' team score and number of individual champions were the highest marks since the 2011 season.
Nora Weathers won the 1,500 meters in a school record time of 4:30.18. Her recent personal best breaks the school record set by Annick Lamar '08. Weathers' time breaks Lamar's previous school record by over four seconds. Her time also ranks third in NCAA Division III as of press time. Weathers became the seventh Haverford champion in this event. The Fords have crowned the individual champion in this event more times than any school in conference history. Weathers' title is the first in the event for Haverford since Lamar won the race during her senior campaign.
Haverford's second title came from Brittany Steele in the 100 meter dash. Steele edged rival Katherine Cavanaugh of Gettysburg by just two-hundredths of a second as Steele crossed the line in a time of 12.75 seconds. Steele also finished second in the 200 meter dash with a time of 25.81 seconds. Her new personal best in that event keeps her ranked second in school history. She was clipped by just 14-hundredths of a second at the 200 finish line.
Katie Sullivan's runner-up finish in the 800 meters highlighted three Haverford point scorers in the event. Sullivan was edged out by just nine-hundredths of a second at the line. Her new PR ranks her sixth in school history. Weathers (2:18.91) and Katherine Greifeld (2:20.94) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the event.
Haverford had a pair of scorers in the 100 meter hurdles. Mairead Ferry placed third overall with a new personal best time of 15.21 seconds. That mark ranks her third in school history. Carolyn Oehrig finished seventh in the event with a time of 16.79 seconds. The Fords also got scoring performances on the track from Sedona Murphy and Kelley Riffenburgh. Murphy finished in 1:00.14 to place fifth in the 400 meters. Riffenburgh finished the 5,000 meters in a time of 18:01.72.
Several scoring performers from Haverford teamed up in the final event of the conference championships. With Oehrig, Murphy, Greifeld, and Sullivan competing in the 4x400 relay, Haverford turned in a fifth place time of 4:07.88.
In the field events, the Fords had two scorers in a pair of events on Sunday. Competing in the triple jump, Elizabeth Reikowski (10.77 meters) and Oehrig (10.52 meters) placed fourth and seventh overall. Reikowski now ranks fifth in school history for the event, while Oehrig moved up to 8th in the College's record book. During the shot put competition, Claire Sargent (12.13 meters) and Robin Chernow (10.85 meters) replicated those fourth and seventh place finishes. Sargent's PR toss inches her closer to the school record as she currently ranks second in school history.
With the close of the Centennial Conference Championship, the women's track & field team will have the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet next Monday, May 11 for any final chances to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The NCAA Championship will be held from May 21-23 in Canton, N.Y.