Medford, MA — The Williams Women's Track and Field team had a successful day of competition at the Tufts Stampede Open Meet on Saturday, February 15th. The Ephs faced several NCAA Division III teams — including Amherst College, MIT, Trinity College, and Middlebury College — and racked up several impressive marks.
The Ephs delivered standout performances in the sprinting events throughout the day. Kicking off Saturday's competition, Olivia LaBelle '28 and Ziann Facey '26 represented the Ephs in the 60m hurdles. In the prelims, LaBelle placed third with a collegiate-best time of 9.29 seconds, while Facey finished seventh in 9.67 seconds. LaBelle advanced to the finals, where she secured another third-place finish with a time of 9.40 seconds. Both athletes hit the DIII New Englands qualifying standard in the event. Next up, three Ephs took the track for the 60m dash. In the prelims, Rachel Arthur '25 took first place with a time of 7.71 seconds. Ella Sukup '26 and Maggie Nichols '28 followed closely, finishing fourth and fifth, both clocking in at 8.04 seconds. Sukup and Nichols returned for the finals later in the day, where Sukup posted a personal best of 8.01 seconds to take third, while Nichols matched her preliminary time of 8.04 seconds for fourth. All three sprinters achieved DIII New Englands qualifying marks. In the 400m race, first-year Lia Navon '28 placed eighth with a time of 1:03.37, while Gabby Odoom '25 finished 21st in 1:05.65. The Ephs closed out the sprints with another standout performance in the 200m dash. Rachel Arthur '25 continued her impressive day, winning the event with a personal-best time of 25.13 seconds. Her mark ranks fourth on the All-Time Williams Performance List and qualifies her for DIII New Englands. Malia Klein '25 also competed in the 200m, finishing sixth in 26.71 seconds.
The Ephs continued their strong performances in the mid-distance and distance events. In the 5000m race, first-years Hannah Prokup '28 and Ella Kirkwood '28 represented the Ephs. Prokup secured 14th place with a time of 18:48.11, closely followed by Kirkwood, who ran a personal best of 18:50.67 to finish 15th. The women's mile saw an impressive performance from Nora Johnson '25, who placed second with a personal-best time of 5:09.81, earning a spot at DIII New Englands. Sophie Rosencrans '25 also competed, finishing 11th in 5:29.46. In the 800m race, Grace Kaercher '25 and Greta Vaughn '26 both secured a time of 2:29.46. Kaercher placed seventh, while Vaughn took eighth. The Ephs claimed another victory in the 1000m race, where Clara Gahm '28 won the event with a personal-best time of 3:03.78 to qualify for DIII New Englands. The success continued in the 3000m race, with Julia Brennan '27 securing first place in a personal-best 10:21.31, earning her own DIII New Englands qualification. Fiona Picone '26 followed with a fifth-place finish in 10:34.42, also hitting the qualifying standard. Hayley Ballard '27 and Mirembe Mubanda '28 capped off the event with personal bests, finishing 10th (10:48.12) and 11th (10:48.21), respectively.
In the field events, Ephs competed in the horizontal jumps, high jump, and throws. Starting with the long jump, Mireya King and Kelsey Tarby represented the Ephs. Kelsey delivered a strong performance, finishing in 4th place with a jump of 5.26 meters, and marking a new season best. In the triple jump, Rafaela Delgado, Mireya King, and Kelsey Tarby all qualified for the finals. Rafaela and Mireya both recorded identical jumps of 11.05 meters, securing 4th and 5th place, respectively. In the high jump, Amalie Jamanka cleared 1.61 meters, earning 4th place with an impressive effort. The pole vault was a dominant event for the Ephs, securing 1st, 2nd, and 4th place. Ellie Fitzgerald soared over 3.80 meters, claiming 1st place by a significant margin. Jae Yu followed closely, clearing 3.55 meters to take 2nd place, while Poppy Miller rounded out the top finishes with a clearance of 3.40 meters, securing 4th place. In the weight throw, Maria Farreti delivered a standout performance, taking 2nd place with a massive throw of 15.43 meters. Chloe Schneeberg followed with another impressive mark of 15.20 meters, securing a strong finish. In the shot put, Maria continued her efforts, placing 10th with a solid throw of 10.75 meters.
The final race on the track was the 4x400m relay. The Ephs team of Ella Sukup '26, Maggie Nichols '28, Kelsey Tarby '27, and Greta Vaughn '26 won the event with a strong time of 4:06.35.
The Williams Women's track and field team had a strong showing at the Tufts Stampede Open. Looking ahead, the team will next compete at the Division III New England Championship meet on February 28th - March 1st in Boston, MA.
