HAVERFORD, Pa. – Changing over to the outdoor season, the Haverford College women's track & field team resumes action at the Danny Curran Invitational this coming weekend. That meet will be one of nine that the Fords are scheduled to compete in before the Centennial Conference Championships at the beginning of May.
Haverford placed fifth as a team at the Centennial Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships last spring and is coming off of a fourth-place team finish during the indoor season. The Fords return two All-Centennial Conference performers from last year's outdoor championships in Sophie Drew and Molly Hawkins, who were each members of the runner-up 4x800 relay last spring. Those two also earned All-Centennial Conference accolades during the indoor season on the Fords' strong relay teams.
Jessica Lopez starred in the sprints and jumps for the Fords during the indoor season and will look to replicate and improve on those performances this coming outdoor campaign. Lopez was second in the 60 meters and 200 meters during the indoor season after placing fifth in the 100 meter dash during the conference's outdoor championship during her rookie campaign. Lopez is also coming off of a seventh-place finish in the triple jump last season, but was also the runner-up at the conference meet in that event just over a month ago.
In addition to having the second best 4x800 relay in the conference last year, the Fords had a number of returning athletes who just missed scoring performances in the individual events last spring. Drew did finish seventh last year for a scoring performance individually while Hannah Yeakey, Jolie Jaycobs, and Amalia Axinn were just outside of the finals for that event. Jaycobs and Griffin Kaulbach joined Hawkins and Drew on the second-place 4x800 relay during the indoor season. Drew added to her scoring in the last year's outdoor championship with an eighth place showing in the 5,000 meters. Angie Petrichenko was another runner who will be looking to move into scoring finishes this year for the Fords as she placed 10th during the conference's 10,000 meter championship.
If the indoor season is any indication, the Fords are also well equipped for relay success this spring. The relay of Naomi Fukuda, Lopez, Tess Oberholtzer, and Jasmine Reed each earned second-team All-CC honors during the winter for their performance in the 4x200 relay. Fukuda and Reed will look to carry that success into their first outdoor campaigns with the Fords, while Tess Oberholtzer also excelled in the 100 meter hurdles where she placed fourth in the conference just last year.
Mari Horton and Unique Tuberville have been strong contributors to the Fords' throwers. Tuberville set the College's record in the weight throw during the indoor season and was the fifth-place finisher in hammer last spring. Horton competed in the shot put and javelin during the outdoor championships in 2018 and will look to move up the conference ranks during her second season with the Fords. In addition to Lopez, Kerry Quigley gives the Fords another potential scoring option in the jumps.
The 2019 Centennial Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships are slated to run from Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5 at Muhlenberg. Other key meets leading up to that date included the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton (Apr. 19), the Haverford Invitational (Apr. 22), and the Penn Relays (Apr. 25).