LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Owls track & field squad jumped back into action earlier Saturday afternoon against some heavy competition, as they headed over to New Jersey for the Rider Invitational. Facing off against competitors from a handful of Division I programs around the region such as Princeton, Sacred Heart, Siena, Marist, and others, the Owls acquitted themselves well with many solid performances on the day.
Izzy Ravaglia made her debut in the steeplechase at today's invitational, taking 10th place overall in the event. The senior set a new personal record and qualified for Centennial Conference Championships with a time of 13:03.43 in today's event.
The Owls featured two athletes who competed in four different events on the day, with both of them grabbing three new PRs in three of their four events. Alex deLeuze was one of those two Owls, with the sophomore opening the action with a PR in the long jump. DeLeuze posted a long of 4.19 meters in the event, her first PR of the day. She would then go on to PR in the 100 meter hurdles, finishing in 15th with a time of 23.37 in her debut in the event. DeLeuze then completed her PR trifecta with a time of 29.01 seconds in the 200 meter dash, also qualifying for Centennial Conference Championships in that event.
Allison Mead was the other Owl who knocked it out of the park on a busy day with four events on her schedule. The junior PR'd in the hammer throw to open her day up, throwing a long of 19.85 meters. Mead would then go on to pick up personal records in the shot put (8.43 meters) and javelin (19.01 meters) as well.
Colby Rossmassler paced the Owls in the 100 meter hurdles, posting a time of 21.84 in the event for a 13th-place finish.
Nora Steil completed the Bryn Mawr contingent in the hammer throw, finishing just behind Mead in 19th place in the event. Steil heaved a long of 18.02 meters in her debut in the event for a new personal record.
Sydney Collins took 12th place overall in the shot put, posting a long of 10.43 meters for her top-15 finish on the day. Steil followed up with a long of 7.65 meters in the event
Collins, Steil, and Mead also competed in the discus as well for Bryn Mawr. Collins once again led the way for the Owls, finishing 12th in this event as well with a long of 30.01 meters. Steil finished next for Bryn Mawr, taking 20th with a long of 21.86 meters, a new PR for the first-year. Mead was close behind with a long of 20.67 meters.
In such a big, Division I-heavy meet, overall wins were much more difficult to come by on the day for the Owls, but Bryn Mawr did earn several very exciting heat victories at today's invitational. DeLeuze was one of those to earn a heat victory, taking the win in her personal-record-setting heat of the 200 meter dash. Kris Pasia posted one of the top finishes place-wise on the day, as the first-year ran a 1:02.72 in the 400 meter dash. That time was good enough to give Pasia 11th place on the day, a new outdoor collegiate best for the first-year, and it was also good enough for Pasia to win her heat in the event. Caroline Robertson posted a PR in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:38.43, which was also good enough for the sophomore to win her heat as well. Amelia McDonnell rounded out the group with a big win in her heat of the 1500 meter run, with the senior posting a new personal record time of 5:30.19 in the event.
Evelyn Fort finished close behind in 5:42.55. Evelyn Cheng (5:46.16), Uma McGuire (5:48.19), Kira Elliott (6:03.42), and Alex Rosen (6:10.78) all also put up strong showings for Bryn Mawr in the event, with all four of those Owls posting new personal records with those finishes.
Kayla Camille grabbed a top-20 finish in the packed 100 meter dash. The first-year ran a 13.81 in the event to take 20th place overall. Colby Rossmassler also put together a solid effort, crossing the line in 15.15 in the event.
The Owls featured six athletes in action in the 800 meter run, paced by senior Carey Parker. The veteran leader for this Bryn Mawr squad came home in a time of 2:31.98 in the event to finish 38th. Willa Sippel finished just behind Parker with a time of 2:32.46, with both Parker and Sippel qualifying for Conferences thanks to their finishes today. Bethany Quist (2:34.42), Lauren Kitay (2:35.38), and Sam Lyster (2:41.73) also put up solid showings on the day in the event. Kitay, Lyster, and Sippel all posted collegiate PRs with those finishes.
Kass Wojcik took 13th in the 200 meter dash to pace the Owls in that event. The senior ran a time of 27.20 to take the top-15 finish on the day. Kris Pasia ran a 28.15 to finish 21st in the event and qualify for conferences while Kayla Camille (28.86) finished close behind.
The Owls will now gear up for a busy week next week, as they will feature some athletes in action at the historic Penn Relays on Thursday before traveling out to Elizabethtown for the Blue Jay Tune Up next Saturday.
"We were supported at the meet today by members of the Wojcik family. Many thanks to those who made the trip to Rider and the many more who supported us from afar." - Coach Hewitt
