Results
Boston, MA — Select members of the Williams Women's Track and Field team competed on Day 1 of the annual Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational on February 10th, 2023. The meet featured teams across all three NCAA divisions, including Harvard University, Yale University, Amherst College and Tufts University. On Friday, the Ephs ran against high-level competition in the sprints and distance events.
The day started with sophomore Charlotte Staudenmayer running the 5000m. Staudenmayer crossed the finish line in a speedy DIII New England qualifying time of 17:57.14, placing 29th.
Shortly after,
Ziann Facey '26 competed in the 60m hurdles. Facey fought through an injury during her race but has already secured a spot in this event at DIII New England's at previous meets.
Next up, the 400m runners hit the track. Junior Camryn Taylor ran an impressive 57.42 to finish 60th and qualify for the DIII New England Championship. Malia Klein '25 also had a fantastic race and finished in 81st, running a personal best time of 58.09. Daisy Valle '25 and senior captain Claudia Iannelli followed Klein, placing 142nd and 153rd, respectively. Valle crossed the line in a personal best of 1:00.70, and Iannelli ran 1:01.07. All of these women qualified for the DIII New England Championship with their times. Sophomore Alisa Kanganis also competed in the 400m and successfully placed 202nd in a personal best of 1:03.41.
In the 200m dash, senior captain Kiara Tan completed her lap around the track in a blazing personal record of 24.96. She placed 31st out of 251 competitors in this event. Rachel Arthur '25 carried on the Ephs' success by running 26.18 and placing 123rd. Both Tan and Arthur achieved DIII New England qualifying times. Freshman Ella Sukup and sophomore Alisa Kanganis reached personal record times in the 200m. Sukup finished in 161st with a time of 26.76, and Kanganis came in 228th in 27.93. Gabby Odoom '25 also ran the 200m and placed 191st, running a time of 27.23.
Between the sprints events, Sophie Rosencrans '25 competed in the 1km. Rosencrans had a great race and took 73rd overall in a DIII New England qualifying time of 3:06.82.
The 1600 relay was the final sprints event of the day. The 1600 relay team of Sukup, Klein, Valle and Taylor took 32nd overall. They were able to break the 3:59.00 barrier, running 3:58.53.
The day finished off with the mile and the 3000m. In the mile, junior Molly Fitzgibbons ran an outstanding personal record of 4:54.71, placing her in 106th. Lucy Gagnon '24 followed her teammate closely, coming in 151st with a personal best of 5:00.02. Alex Bettez '23 and Lilly Wells '23 also ran personal record times of 5:09.78 and 5:10.68, respectively. Bettez placed 191st, and Wells placed 200th. Coming off an injury, senior captain Abby Scott ran a 5:16.93, placing 233. In the 3000m, Ella Ball '25 crossed the line in a personal record of 9:50.96 and came in 131st. Nora Johnson '25 and Grace Kaercher '25 secured the 229th and 252nd positions. Johnson ran a personal best of 10:20.13 and Kaercher ran 10:27.00. All of these Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands with their times.
Overall, the Ephs put up some great performances and marks on Day 1 of the Boston University Invitational. On Saturday, February 11, 2023, the 4000 Distance Medley Relay of sophomore Blakeley Buckingham, junior Camryn Taylor, freshman Katerina Papachela, and junior Molly Fitzgibbons will compete in Day 2 of the meet. Also, on Saturday, athletes specializing in field events will be competing at the MIT Gordon Kelly Invitational. The women's team is excited and prepared for another day of competition.
