Centennial Conference Championship Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's outdoor track & field team is set for the 2016 Centennial Conference Championship. The annual outdoor championship will get underway this Friday and continue through Sunday on the campus of Dickinson College. The Fords placed third at last year's outdoor championship and were second overall at the conference meet during the indoor season.
Haverford won a meet-best seven events during the indoor championships, and the Fords have 13 entrants among the top three seeds entering the weekend. This list includes four top performances in the conference entering championship weekend.
Brittany Steele is the top seed in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes. She won the 100 meter dash last spring and was runner-up in the 200 meters. Taylor Murphy, the Centennial Conference Outstanding Rookie of the Meet during the indoor season, is ranked third in the 200 meters and seventh in the 100 meters. She is also the third seed in the 100 meter hurdles. Also competing in the sprints will be Tess Oberholtzer, who is seeded sixth in the 400 meter hurdles and eighth in the 100 meter hurdles.
Katie Sullivan, the defending Centennial Conference Champion in the 800 meters during the indoor season, is the favorite to win that event coming into the outdoor season. Her closest competition could very well come from Nora Weathers as she is currently ranked second in that event. Weathers, the defending outdoor champion and All-American in the 1500 meters, enters the weekend seeded third in that event.
MaryKate Cavanaugh is Haverford's final top seed as she enters the meet with the best time in the 10,000 meters. Also in the distance, Maggie Heffernan is ranked second in the steeplechase, while also holding the fifth seed in the 5,000 meters. Amelia Keyser-Gibson won the 5,000 meter championship during the indoor season and will enter as the second seed at the outdoor meet. Nicole Giannetti will also look to score for the Fords in the distance races as she is ranked third in the steeplechase and fifth in the 1500 meters.
Entering the relays, Haverford does not have a time in the 4x800 relay. However, the Fords placed second in this event a year ago. Haverford is ranked seventh in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The Fords were fifth in the 4x400 relay during the outdoor season last spring.
In the field events, Claire Sargent enters as the third seed into the shot put, an event she won during the indoor conference championships. Sargent is also ranked among the top 10 in the conference in discus. Emily Anderson has been the Fords' top performer in discus and is ranked fourth in that event. She will also contest the shot put and javelin.
Elizabeth Reikowski will be looking to either replicate or improve upon her triple jump finish from the indoor season. She was an honorable mention All-CC triple jumper during the winter and enters as the third seed this week. Grace Mathis will also compete in the triple jump and pole vault for the Fords.