Ephs Achieve Promising Marks at their Outdoor Season Opener Meet in San Diego

Results

San Diego, CA — The Williams Women's Track and Field team kicked off their outdoor season at the 15th Annual PLNU Track and Field Invitational at Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday. Prior to the day's competition, the Ephs had a productive week of training and enjoyed team bonding activities on their annual spring break trip. Throughout the day, many Ephs achieved new personal bests and tried out new events in their outdoor season debuts. Throughout the day, many Ephs achieved new personal bests and tried out new events in their outdoor season debuts.   

Saturday's competition began with throws. In her first time competing in the hammer throw, Emma Miller '26 placed 8th with a mark of 35.81m. In the javelin throw, Livi Mazerolle '26 and Hayden Colfax '25 both hit new personal bests. Mazerolle threw 27.96m to place in 15th and Colfax threw 27.16m to come in 16th. The shot put was the next throws event. Miller threw 11.21m in the event, finishing in 4th and qualifying for DIII New Englands. She also competed in the discus throw, in which she threw 29.12m to secure 10th place.

Turning to the jumps, the Ephs had a successful day in the high jump. Freshman Amelie Jamanka came in 2nd with her 1.60m jump. This was a collegiate personal best for her, as well as a DIII New Englands qualifying mark. Mazerolle jumped 1.50m to come in 6th. In the long jump, senior captain Kristen Chou jumped 5.37m to secure 2nd place and to qualify for DIII New Englands. Sophomore Rachel Arthur also competed in the event and jumped 4.95m to place in 7th. Next up, in the pole vault, freshman Ellie Fitzgerald placed 3rd, clearing 3.44m. Sophomore Poppy Miller cleared 3.28m to come in 6th. Both Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands.

The distance squad kicked off their impressive day of racing with the 1500m race. In this event, Abby Scott '23 led the Ephs with her 2nd place finish. Her impressive time of 4:38.11 qualifies her for DIII New Englands. Lilly Wells '23 finished 3rd overall in the 1500m with a time of 4:41.52. This is a new personal record for Wells and qualifies her for DIII New Englands. Nora Johnson '25 placed 5th overall with a time of 4:44.62, a new personal best for the Eph and DIII New Englands qualifying mark. Sammie Seamon '24 finished in 4:49.74 and placed 7th. Seamon's time is a new personal record and a DIII New Englands qualifying mark. Maddie Lawler '24 placed 9th in 4:50.39 for a new personal record. Close behind was Alex Bettez '23, finishing in 4:51.76 for 10th place and a new personal record. Later on in the day, Grace Kaercher '25 and Elsa Martin '25 represented the Ephs in the 800m race. Kaercher placed 10th with a mark of 2:20.94. Martin was close behind, placing 11th in 2:21.43 for a new personal best. Both Ephs hit qualifying marks for DIII New Englands for the 800m. In the 5000m race, Fiona Picone '26 had an outstanding performance. Her 1st place finish in 17.50.16 earned her a new personal record and a DIII New Englands qualification. 

The first sprints event was the 100m hurdles. Mazerolle placed 19th in the race with a personal best time of 16.66. Coming back from injury, senior captain Caroline Douglas finished 21st, running 17.19. Next up, Mazerolle and Ella Sukup '26 both competed in the 400m. Sukup ran a collegiate personal best of 1:00.86 to come in 12th place. She was followed by Mazerolle who ran 1:03.91 to finish 26th in her first college 400m race. In the 100m dash, senior captain Kiara Tan came in 2nd, running a blazing 12.03. Scarlet Rusch '23.5 competed in her first college 100m and placed 12th, running 12.63. Sophomore Rachel Arthur placed in 13th, also running a time of 12.63. Chou ran a personal best time of 12.79 to come in 17th. All four Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands with these times.

Camryn Taylor '24 and Greta Vaughn competed in the 400m hurdles. Taylor ran a quick 1:03.90 to come in 3rd and Vaughn crossed the line in 1:08.59 to come in 12th. Both achieved DIII New Englands qualifying times. Four Ephs placed in the top ten of the 200m dash. Tan ran a speedy 25.00 to place in 2nd, while Rusch ran 26.00 to come in 7th. She was closely followed by Malia Klein '25 who ran a collegiate personal best of 26.15 to finish 9th. These three Ephs qualified for DIII New Englands in the 200m. Sukup also competed in the event and ran 26.30 to secure 10th place.

Two 4x400m relay teams represented the Ephs. The team of Camryn Taylor '24, Malia Klein '25, Elsa Martin '25, and Daisy Valle '25 placed 4th with a time of 4:06.17. The second team of Lucy Gagnon '24, Nora Johnson '25, Lily Wells '23, and Grace Kaercher '25 was close behind the first group of Ephs. Their time of 4:09.21 earned them a 5th place finish. 

The Ephs had many great performances at their first outdoor meet in San Diego, and more importantly, they had a ton of fun. They hit many promising marks, new personal bests, and DIII New Englands qualifying marks all on a track overlooking the Pacific Ocean on a sunny day. The women's team is looking forward to their next meet at Springfield College on Saturday, April 8th.