PRINCETON, N.J. – The Bryn Mawr Indoor Track & Field program traveled to Princeton, N.J. on Sunday to compete in one last meet before the Centennial Conference Championships next weekend.  Highlighting the Owls were sophomore Lauren Kitay in the mile and senior Margaret Hardigg in the high jump. In addition, seven Owls collected a personal record (PR) throughout the day.
The day began with a strong performance from the Owls in the mile. Hot off the press from a PR last weekend, Kitay got an aggressive start in the first heat, leading a trio of DI talents from Saint Josephs. A late surge from a Millersville runner allowed the Marauder to overtake two Saint Josephs' runners, but Kitay maintained her composure to finish second in the race with a time of 5:28.19. Kitay's time in the mile is the fastest recorded time for the Owls' this season, moving the sophomore to 19th in the Centennial Conference standings. Senior Sofie Prieto finished ninth in the heat with a time of 5:46.96.
The second heat saw three more PRs from Lukabed Bati (5:50.68), Evelyn Cheng (5:49.92) and Sofi Guven (5:40.71). With early pacing set by Bati, the group benefited from subsequent surges from Cheng and Guven, who would go on to end with the heat win. Senior Marien Richardson rounded out the Owls with a time of 6:03.21.
"This group has been hungry for PRs all season," said head coach Jason Hewitt, "It's great to see the hard work on Monday and Wednesday morning workouts pay such big dividends at the meets!"
In Jadwin Gymnasium, the Owls saw additional success in the field events. Senior Margaret Hardigg cleared a sequence of attempts at 1.40m, 1.45m and 150m. After a miss at 1.55m, Hardigg set her season best with a clean second attempt to finish fourth in the event. Hardigg also competed in the triple jump with a mark of 9.13m, while first-year Jessica Johnson reached a height of 9.61m. Johnson continued in the horizontal jumps, clearing a 4.42m in the long jump. Sophomore Nora Steil also had a great showing at shot put with a new PR of 8.55m.
The sprint group collected additional PRs in their final regular season meet. Sophomore hurdler Colby Rossmassler (11.54s) finished with a PR in the 60m hurdles. In preparation for the pentathlon, Rossmassler debuted and earned a PR in the 800m (3:08.74), with support from teammate Prieto (3:05.04) who also earned a PR.  Johnson (8.55s) and Kayla Camille (8.68s) were just a hair off from their early season PRs in the 60m. Camille doubled back in the 200m (29.47s) trailing teammate Madeleine Yao (28.82s) to the finish.Â
"We are really trying to make the most of these events before we get to Champs," said Coach Hewitt. "For some, this was the capstone of the season in some events, while for others it was a final tune-up. In both cases, I'm really proud of how the team is performing right now and looking forward to what they bring to Champs," finished Coach Hewitt.
The Owls will take the week to prepare for the Centennial Conference Championships which will be held at Franklin and Marshall between Saturday February 25 and Sunday February 26.
