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Katie Sullivan Moves Into Strong Position for National Qualifying

Katie Sullivan
Katie Sullivan

SWARTHMORE, Pa. – Katie Sullivan made the most of the Swarthmore Last Chance meet on Monday, finishing the 1,500 meter race in a personal best time of 4:30.71. Sullivan's time moves her up to seventh in the Division III rankings for that event this season and puts her in a very strong position to make her 10th career appearance at the NCAA National Championships.

Running in a field that included United States Olympian Ajee Wilson, Sullivan placed sixth overall and was the top Division III entrant in the event. Her time moves her to within 53-hundredths of a second of the school record that was set by Nora Weathers '15. That time also bested her own mark which earned her a spot in the national outdoor track & field championships last spring during this very same meet.

Sullivan was not alone in her success during the 1,500 meters as each of the Fords six entrants finished with personal best times. Sophie Drew (4:42.10) ran a nearly three second PR to place 22nd overall. Hannah Doll placed 34th (4:56.88) with a nearly one second personal best. Jolie Jaycobs (4:57.73) and Molly Hawkins (4:57.94) cut over 10 and 16 seconds, respectively, off their previous bests entering the meet, while Amalia Axinn (5:02.70) was over a second faster than she had been throughout the spring season.

Also competing on Monday night was Amelia Keyser-Gibson in the 5,000 meters. Keyser-Gibson placed ninth overall with a time of 17:31.32. Her best time of 17:17.01, which she set during the Centennial Conference Championships, currently ranks 38th in Division III this spring.

Women's track & field is also scheduled to run in the Mideast Regional at Widener on Thursday for one last opportunity to qualify additional runners to the NCAA Division III Championships. The national meet will be hosted by UW-La Crosse and run from Thursday, May 24 through Saturday, May 26.