HAVERFORD, Pa. - With a week remaining before the Conference Championships, the Haverford College women's track and field team took to Alumni Field House as they competed in their final home meet, the Keogh Invitational, on Saturday. The team put in some solid performances with the small group as many athletes are gearing up for crucial championship performances.
For Naomi Fukuda, it was the perfect time to turn in a personal best performance. In the 60-meter dash, the senior crossed the finish line in 8.40 seconds, narrowly missing out on a first-place finish by 0.23 seconds. It should be a sign of things to come from the sprinter. She will be a crucial contributor come championship time to earn the team points on the sprinting side after her final regular season home meet.
In the 200 meter dash, newcomer Juliet Young posted a time of 31.29 as she looks to settle into the team and find her footing on the track after a stellar volleyball season in the fall.
Isabel Thornberry just missed out on breaking 60 seconds in the 400-meter dash. The versatile runner has never seen an event she doesn't like, but Saturday was her time to compete in the quarter-mile. Although she didn't break a minute, there's plenty to be happy about in her performance. Finishing second-place, her time of 1:00.40 was a personal best for the sophomore. She has repeatedly shown that she can be relied upon to score points for the Fords in the team battle. Teammates Jahsaiah Moses and Rachel November also competed, posting solid times of 1:03.38 and 1:05.08, respectively.
Lauren Tanel has shown consistency on the track this indoor campaign. The senior entered the 800-meter run for the second straight weekend and proved that last weekend was just a slight hiccup. Tanel ran a personal best of 2:27.02, good enough for second place on the day. Her time beat her previous personal best of 2:29.75, a mark set back on January 22. It will be interesting to see what events the senior competes in next weekend because she now has solid performances in both the mile and 800 meters so far in 2022. Dominique Monroy turned in a top-five performance in the event, finishing fifth with a time of 2:32.91. Her time was 0.21 seconds off of her personal best, but a solid showing from the first-year runner. Other performances included Ella Fleming (2:37.40), Hedy Goodman (2:46.15), and Selena She (2:48.12)
Moses took home the victory in the 60 meter hurdles with a personal best of 10.21, in only her second time competing in the event this indoor campaign. The relay squads both took home victories on the day. The usual team of Fukuda, Moses, Thornberry, and November crossed the finish line in 1:50.94 for the 4x200 meter relay. In the 4x400, Monroy, Tanel, Shala Muktar, and Fleming finished in 4:36.49.
The women's track & field team will now look ahead as they travel to Ursinus for the Centennial Conference Championships on Saturday, February 26. Many of the teams' athletes are running to score major points and will look to have solid showings across the board. Championships will run from Saturday through Sunday at Ursinus College.