WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Owls track & field team kicked off their outdoor season earlier Saturday afternoon by competing in the WCU Quad Meet at West Chester. It turned out to be an incredible start to the season for the Owls, as the team racked up dozens of collegiate PRs and even the program's oldest school record shattered as well! Overall, the day saw the Owls set one new school record, 11 personal records, eight collegiate PRs, three outdoor PRs, and four season bests.
Going up against competition from several Division II schools on the day, Margaret Hardigg showed no signs of slowing down after her incredible indoor season over the winter. The junior went out and shattered the program record in the high jump, clearing 1.58 meters topping the previous school record of 1.53 meters set by Nina Box, which had stood since 2001. Hardigg's mark was enough to earn her first place in the event, and she followed that up by taking second place in the triple jump as well with a long of 9.73 meters. Hardigg qualified for conferences in each event thanks to her finishes.
The Owls also earned a big win in the 800 meter thanks to an impressive performance from Malin Just. Running the event for the first time in her collegiate career, Just blazed through the rest of the field, claiming the win by over two seconds over the next closest finisher with a time of 2:28.54. That time was a new PR for Just and also qualifies her for Conferences.
Over on the field side of things, Sydney Collins put in a pair of strong showings in her return to action after volleyball and basketball season. The Owls junior took fifth place in the shot put, clearing the 10 meter mark with a long of 10.41 meters. That mark is a new collegiate PR and also enough to qualify her for conferences in the event. Collins then went on to finish eighth in the discus with a long of 30.58, again setting a new collegiate PR and qualifying for conferences.
Izzy Ravaglia earned second place in the 5000 meter run with a strong performance in her first time competing in the event collegiately (outside of cross country). The senior ran a 19.59.65 in the event to take that second-place finish, setting a new PR and qualifying for conferences in the process. Camryn Karis-Sconyers finished just behind in third place (20:30.60) and Sam Lyster took fifth place (20:42.65), with both athletes also setting PRs.
Kass Wojcik earned a fourth-place finish in the 200 meter dash to open the final season of her Bryn Mawr career. The Owls senior ran a 27.70 in the event to stake herself to fourth place. That time is a new season best for Wojcik and also qualifies her for conferences in the event.
"I can't believe the number of fantastic performances we had this early in the season," stated Owls head coach Jason Hewitt. "This team has really kept the momentum from indoors and we're really set up for a great outdoor season!"
Kayla Camille led the Owls with a top-10 finish in the 100 meter dash. The first-year ran a 13.81 in the event to take eighth place overall, a time that is a new PR and qualifies her for the Centennial Conference Championship. Alex deLeuze also set a PR and qualified for conferences (14.12) and Colby Rossmassler finished 15th (15.40) with a PR of her own. Rossmassler would also go on to set a new PR in the 100 hurdles, running a 21.64 and taking fifth place in the process.
Evelyn Fort led Bryn Mawr's performers in the 1500, finishing in 11th place with a time of 5:37.02. Ella Heipt ran a 6:11.43 and Kira Elliott crossed the line in 6:15.63. All three of those times were PRs for the Owls.
There were dozens of other notable performances on the day. Back in the 800, Lauren Kitay ran a new collegiate best of 2:35.66 to beat her best time from the indoor season by almost two full seconds and take fifth place in the event. Caroline Robertson also ran a PR with a time of 2:40.42, almost five seconds better than her best time from the indoor season. Amelia McDonnell ran a new season best in the event, while Lukabed Bati ran a new outdoor PR and Carey Parker ran a season best time.
In the 200, Kris Pasia and Kayla Camille also qualified for conferences, with Pasia running a new collegiate PR and Camille getting a new personal record. DeLeuze followed up with an outdoor PR in the event as well. In the 400, Bethany Quist ran a 1:07.88 to take seventh place and set a new collegiate PR.
In the shot put, Allison Mead set a new outdoor PR with a long of 7.47 meters, while Nora Steil threw a 7.53m long for a collegiate PR of her own. The duo also competed in the discus for the first time collegiately, with Mead throwing a long of 20.38 meters for a PR and Steil following just behind with a long of 20.29 meters for a collegiate PR.
The Owls took fourth place in the 4x400 relay, with the quartet of Pasia, Wojcik, Just, and Bati crossing the line in a time of 4:46.36 in the event.
Bryn Mawr will be right back in action next weekend, looking to carry as much positive momentum out of today's performances into their next meet as they can. Bryn Mawr will travel up to Allentown next Saturday to compete in the Muhlenberg Invitational.
"The team was supported today by members of the Collins, McDonnell, Parker, and Wocjik families. Many thanks to those who made the trip to Westchester and the many more who supported us from afar!" - Coach Hewitt
