CHESTER, Pa. - The Haverford College women's track & field team competed in the Widener Invitational on Saturday as the team walked away with a school record, some program-top tens, and a multitude of personal bests. Overall, Haverford added many good signs as the team transitions into the later part of the schedule.
The highlight of the day came in the jumps. Kayla Robinson finished third in the long jump with a leap of 5.38 meters (17 feet, 8 inches). Her jump on her very first attempt was good enough for a new personal best and Haverford's new all-time best. Robinson left no doubt as she jumped nearly two inches better than the previous program record of 17 feet, 6.75 inches.
Jahsaiah Moses finished amongst the top-15 in a stacked 100-meter dash field and was the only Ford to compete in the event. Moses crossed the finish line with a time of 12.80 as she continues to dip under 13 seconds consistently.
Two Fords competed in the 100-meter hurdles as Robinson and Ella Fleming both ran the event for the third week in a row. Robinson finished in the top ten with a time of 17.44, easily her best performance of the season. The senior's personal best coming into the meet was 18.15 and she was able to cruise under that time comfortably. Fleming also notched a personal best, getting over ten hurdles in 19.13 seconds. Her previous best was 19.38 ran last week in West Chester. Robinson later jaunted over to the other side of the track for the start line of the 200-meter dash. She performed well once again, running 25.98, a personal best by nearly a second. It was Robinson's first time running under 26 seconds as her previous best was 26.96. Her time was good enough to finish eighth. Her teammate, Fleming, ran 30.87.
The 400-meter dash was Haverford's best showing of the meet. Olivia D'Aulerio and Ally Landau showed that they could be a force and take up multiple spots on the podium at the Centennial Conference championships. D'Aulerio continued her good form this season by lowering her personal best to 58.13, as it was 58.90 coming into the meet. She finished third in the event.
D'Aulerio remains second on Haverford's all-time list for the event, only trailing Christina Nelson '11 who ran 57.13 in 2011. Landau was not to be outdone, as she catapulted herself to third all-time in program history with a stellar time of 58.30 to finish fourth. Perhaps Landau has found her event after a few weeks of solid performances in a variety of sprinting events. These two are something to monitor in the final weeks of the season.
Moses returned to the track to tackle the 400-meter hurdles and posted a top-ten finish after crossing the line with a time of 1:06.91. Her time was good enough to place her ninth on Haverford's all-time list. Rachel November narrowly lowered her personal best in the event, running 1:13.83. Her previous best was 1:13.84.
In the 800 meters, Isabel Thornberry finished in the top half of the field, running 2:18.91 for 24th. It is now the second week in a row where the junior has run under 2:20 for the distance. Dominique Monroy also competed in the 800-meter run and put in a personal best performance. Monroy ran 2:24.24 to finish 39th and lower her best from 2:25.49. Also running the event was the trio Carly Priest (2:29.80), Jessie Hausman (2:35.40), and Briana Feifer (2:43.90).
In the throws, Sarah Wilcher took 15th in the hammer throw, tossing 38.09 meters. Her teammate, Sydney Cummings finished right behind her in 17th with a throw of 37.04 meters. Cummings also threw the javelin and finished in the top ten, placing ninth. The senior threw 31.65 meters.
Haverford will return to action Monday, April 24 for the Haverford Tri-Meet, the first and only home meet of the season. The first event is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.