LANCASTER, Pa. – Tara Silverman's gold medal performance in the 5,000 meters highlighted day one of the Centennial Conference Championships for the Franklin & Marshall women's indoor track & field team. Silverman's gold was the first of her career and accounted for 10 of the Diplomats' 33 points on Saturday which has the team tied for third place.
Silverman posted a time of 17:36.79 to shatter the school record in that event. Her gold medal performance marked the fourth time in program history that a Diplomat has won the 5,000 meter indoor title. Silverman was the first Diplomat champion in that event since Karen Ziga '07 won that race during her senior season. Silverman broke the school record initially set by Jamie Kendig '95 who was a two-time indoor champion in the 5K during her F&M career.
Amanda Imhauser broke her own school record when she scored 2,844 points in the pentathlon to finish with a silver medal. Imhauser set a personal best in the 800 meters (2:35.64) and had a season-best long jump of 4.98 meters. She also posted marks of 9.63 meters in the shot put, 1.38 meters in the high jump, and 10.23 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles.
The Diplomats were credited with a second place finish in the 4x200 relay when the team of Jordyn Collie, Emily Jones, Katie Scott, and Annalise Kauffman finished in a time of 9:42.04. F&M had initially finished third, but a disqualification to the top finishing team moved them up to the silver medal position. The Diplomats' DMR (Abby Bachman, Lillian Williams, Avery Canady, and Anna Atticks) placed fifth (13:39.24), while the 4x200 team (Williams, Canady, Arek Giir, Daniella Dziedzic) took sixth place (1:52.12).
Lauren Dunnigan put herself in position for points on Sunday when she qualified to the finals in the 60 meter dash (7.94) and 60 meter hurdles (9.22) where she will look to defend her conference titles. The Diplomats nearly added to their team score with a ninth-place performance in the pole vault from Hayden Adams (3.17m) and 12th-place showing in the shot put from Max McCoy (12.83m).
Women's track & field will return to action for the second and final day of the Centennial Conference Championships on Sunday with the action getting underway at 11 a.m.
Franklin & Marshall Day 1 Scoring Performances
5,000 Meters
1. Tara Silverman (17:36.79) – School Record
Pentathlon
2. Amanda Imhauser (2,844 points) – School Record
4x800 Relay
2. Jordyn Collie, Emily Jones, Katie Scott, Annalise Kauffman (9:42.04)
Distance Medley Relay
5. Abby Bachman, Lillian Williams, Avery Canady, Anna Atticks (13:39.24)
4x200 Relay
6. Lillian Williams, Avery Canady, Arek Giir, Daniella Dziedzic (1:52.12)
