COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Haverford wrapped up its second day of action at the Centennial Conference Championships at Ursinus on Saturday. The day was highlighted by Kayla Robinson's first-place finish in the Heptathlon. She is Haverford's first winner in the multi since 2009. After day one, Robinson sat in second place and had work to do on the second day of action. The junior was crowned the champion after scoring 3,599 points and a gutsy run in the 800-meter run.
Robinson finished first with a time of 2:40.61, edging out Swarthmore athlete Emma Chiao by a mere second. It was her second first-place finish in the multi-events, as she also scored 530 points in the long jump after jumping 4.89 meters (16 feet, 0.52 inches). Robinson's versatility proved to be just what the Fords needed. She registered ten points for Haverford in the team scoring with the victory.
Day two is home to many preliminary rounds of the running events. To no one's surprise, Isabel Thornberry was the star of the show. Going into the week, it was up in the air what events the sophomore would be running. Finally, it was decided that she would participate individually in the 400-meter dash, and she did not disappoint. Out of four heats, eight runners make finals, and heat winners automatically advance, with the following four fastest times qualifying for finals.
Thornberry ran the third-fastest qualifying time despite finishing second in her heat. Her time of 58.86 was a personal best and is currently the third-fastest time in Haverford's outdoor program history. Thornberry is also only the fourth Haverford runner to break 59 seconds and the first since Christina Neilson did it in 2011. Senior Fiona Flynn also grabbed a spot in a final in the 400-meter hurdles. In arguably the most challenging track event of the day, mix in the rainy conditions, and it could be a recipe for disaster. However, it was nothing Flynn was too worried about as she raced her way to a 1:09.42 and the fifth-fastest qualifying time on the day. Flynn's personal best is 1:08.00, so if she can get anywhere near that time or below, she could be looking at a spot on the podium. Rachel November just missed out on a spot in the final, finishing ninth with a time of 1:14.32.
Jahsiah Moses posted the third-fastest qualifying time in the 100-meter hurdles after running 16.82. It was a personal best for Moses as she finished second in her heat. Moses won her prelims heat and earned a spot in the 100-meter dash final. The junior sprinted her way to a 13.03, just 0.4 off her personal best. Given the racing conditions, it was more about making it to the final today because of the rain and the -1.5 headwind during her heat. Moses sits with the second-fastest qualifying time, only 0.06 seconds off the leader, so tomorrow's action should be exciting.
In the 800-meter run, Lauren Tanel clocked 2:29.37 to finish 12th. Annemarie Wood (2:35.65), Juliet Young (2:36.04), and Ella Fleming (2:39.74) rounded out the 800-meter performances. Naomi Fukuda ran the 200-meter dash for the Fords, crossing the finish line in 28.29.
Cortlyn Morris finished just one spot out of scoring position for the discus. The junior finished ninth with a throw of 28.90 meters (94 feet, 9.80 inches). Haverford earned their final points of the day from the 4x800 meter relay. The team of Tanel, Flynn, Dominique Monroy, and Thornberry took seventh place after crossing the line at 10:06.85.
Haverford sits sixth in the overall team standings after two days. The team has scored 25 points and is in a position to score more on the championship's final day of competition. The action continues tomorrow, Sunday, at 11 a.m. in Collegeville.