LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall women's track & field team competed at both the Messiah and Bucknell Invitationals this weekend and made a number of marks in the school record books across the two meets. With four of those top 10 program records ranking among the top four in program history at Messiah, the Diplomats earned in 11th place finish in the final team standings.
Bella Johnson posted two of those fast times as she placed fourth in both the 100 meter (12.75) and 200 meter (26.14) races. Johnson now ranks third in school history for the 200 and fourth in the 100 meter dash. F&M added another fast time in the sprints with Hayden Adams finishing as the runner-up in the 100 hurdles (16.91). The first-year later cleared 3.11 meters in the pole vault for the second-best height in school history. She concluded her busy day with a 12th place finish in the high jump (1.36m).
Mackenzie Ward was another event runner-up as she took second in the javelin after her best throw was marked at 36.91 meters. Ruth Axford (23.79m) also contested that event, while Jiali Pickering led the team in the hammer (23.95m). In other field event action, Lena Bell was the team's top performer in both the long jump (4.22m) and the triple jump (8.68m).
The final top 10 mark in program history during the Messiah Invitational came from Amanda Imhauser as she finished fourth in the heptathlon with a score of 3,535 points. That score was also good enough to qualify her for the regional championships.
Competing at Bucknell were five individuals. Jordyn Collie posted the 10th-best time in school history during the 1,500 meter race as she finished in a time of 4:54.16. Running against primarily Division I competition, both Annalise Kauffman (2:22.61) and Emily Jones (2:25.07) contested the 800 meter field, with Katie Scott (18:33.21) and Tara Silverman (18:37.34) taking on a strong group of runners in the 5,000 meters.
Women's track & field has two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Diplomats will continue peaking for the postseason when they travel to the nearby Millersville Invitational on Saturday, April 19.
