Atlanta, GA – The Williams Women's Track and Field team kicked off their outdoor season at the Spring Break Classic, hosted by Emory University on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22. The Ephs faced strong competition from NCAA Division II and III programs, including Tufts University, Emory University, Kenyon College, and Albany State University. Dominating the competition, the Ephs delivered an outstanding performance, highlighted by a new school record in the 100m, multiple personal bests, and several DIII New England Championship qualifications.
The Ephs opened their weekend strong during Friday's field events, with multiple standout performances and several qualifications for Division III New Englands. In the women's hammer throw, Chloe Schneeberg '25 secured third place with a new personal best of 44.74 meters, earning her a spot at the New Englands meet. Maria Fareti '28 also delivered a solid performance, finishing eighth with a throw of 41.84 meters, qualifying as well. In the javelin throw, Vivian Koles '27 and Aurora Lewis '28 represented Williams, recording distances of 19.88 meters and 14.81 meters respectively. Meanwhile, Rafaela Delgado '27 represented the Ephs in the triple jump with a mark of 11.36 meters, clinching her qualification for Division III New Englands. In the high jump, Amelie Jamanka '26 cleared 1.50 meters, rounding out a productive first day for the Ephs.
Momentum in the field events continued on Saturday with several more personal bests and qualifying performances. Maria Fareti '28 returned to the ring for the shot put, throwing 12.46 meters to take fourth place and qualify for New Englands once again. In the women's long jump, Kelsey Tarby '27 soared to a third-place finish with a massive personal best of 5.62 meters, punching her ticket to New Englands. Mireya King '28 also had a strong day, recording a personal best of 5.30 meters and joining the list of Eph qualifiers. In the discus, Fareti added another solid performance with a throw of 30.25 meters. The Ephs dominated the pole vault on Saturday, sweeping the top four places and earning three more qualifications. Ellie Fitzgerald '26 led the group with a first-place finish, clearing 3.82 meters to qualify for New England. Poppy Miller '25 followed in second with a height of 3.45 meters, while Jae Yu finished fourth '25, clearing 3.30 meters—both qualifying performances. Altogether, the Ephs had a successful weekend in the field events, marked by personal bests, top finishes, and numerous qualifications for Division III New Englands.
The Ephs had a strong showing in Friday's track events, with a standout effort in the 200 meters. In the 400-meter hurdles, Lia Navon '28 clocked a time of 1:08.65. The 200-meter dash featured a deep field of Eph sprinters, with seven athletes earning qualifications for Division III New Englands. Bella King-Harvey '27 led the charge, finishing in eighth place overall with a time of 25.01. Cate Donaldson '27 followed closely with a time of 25.37, while Ella Sukup '26 (25.67), Maggie Nichols '28 (25.68), Malia Klein '25 (25.89), Claire Jensen '27 (25.98), and Kelsey Tarby '27 (26.14) all ran strong races to secure their spots at New Englands. Additional competitors included Olivia Labelle '28 (26.94), Gabby Odoom '25 (27.94), Mireya King '28 (28.03), and Alisa Kanganis '25, who rounded out the group with a time of 29.30.
Saturday's track events kicked off with the 100-meter opening qualifying round. The Eph sprinters delivered an impressive series of performances, highlighted by multiple personal bests and Division III New England qualifications. Malia Klein '25 led the group with a strong eighth-place finish, clocking a new personal best of 12.41 seconds and earning a spot at New Englands. Just behind her, Bella King-Harvey '27 finished ninth with a time of 12.42 seconds, also qualifying. Ella Sukup '26 (12.51), Kelsey Tarby '27 (12.61), and Maggie Nichols '28 (12.68) all ran competitive races to secure their own New England qualifications, with Tarby also setting a new personal record. Amelie Jamanka '26 and Rafaela Delgado '27 rounded out the Eph lineup with times of 13.34 and 13.78 seconds, respectively.
Later in the day, 100m school record holder Rachel Arthur '25 took to the track in the 100m seeded prelims. Arthur broke her own school record in the race – placing second with an outstanding time of 11.78 seconds. This time qualifies Arthur for DIII New Englands and currently ranks #1 among NCAA DIII outdoor performances this year.
The Ephs continued their success in the 3,000m race on Saturday, securing several top finishes. Freshman Kate Tuttle '28 led the pack, winning the event in an impressive time of 9:58.01. Charlene Peng '27 took second in a personal best time of 10:04.24, followed close behind by Tamar Byl-Brann '27 who took third in 10:04.35. Lily Yampolsky '28 also ran a personal best, finishing in 10:09.08 to secure fourth place. Nora Johnson '25 placed sixth in 10:13.06, followed by Clara Gahm '28 in seventh (10:23.62), Hayley Ballard '27 in eighth (10:32.52), and Julia Brennan '27 in ninth (10:34.92), with Gahm and Ballard setting personal bests. Rounding out the 3,000m competitors for the Ephs were Grace Kaercher '25 (10th, 10:35.75), Fiona Picone '26 (11th, 10:35.75), Hannah Prokup '28 (12th, 10:49.17), and Ella Kirkwood '28 (14th, 11:11.96).
The Ephs had strong performances in Saturday's open 1500m race, too. Morgan Eigel '27 dominated the competition to secure first place, finishing in a personal best time of 4:45.05 to qualify for DIII New Englands. Sophie Rosencrans '25 followed in second place, finishing in 5:02.81. Uma Champe '28 finished sixth in a personal best time of 5:12.07, followed by Mariem Sayahi '27 in eighth (5:16.41) and Caitlin Striff-Cave '27 in fourteenth (5:26.64).
Hurdlers Olivia LaBelle '28 and Ziann Facey '26 put on a strong showing in Saturday's 100m hurdles competition. In the prelims, LaBelle and Facey both ran an impressive time of 15.54, securing fifth and sixth, respectively, to advance to the finals. Later in the day, Facey placed fourth in the finals with a time of 15.32 seconds, while LaBelle matched her prelims time of 15.54 seconds to take sixth. Both Ephs hit qualifying marks for DIII New Englands with their hurdles performances on Saturday.
In the 400m, Annika Paluska '28 led the Ephs with a strong fourth-place finish, securing a personal best time of 57.73 seconds. Cate Donaldson '27 followed close behind, taking fifth with a time of 57.74 seconds. Claire Jensen '27 and Ella Sukup '26 also delivered strong 400m performances, both setting personal bests. Jensen finished ninth in 58.45 seconds and Sukup finished eleventh in 58.59 seconds. Paluska, Donaldson, Jensen, and Sukup all qualified for DIII New Englands in the 400m on Saturday.
Aurora Lewis '28 and Vivian Koles '27 both made their debuts in the 800m on Saturday, finishing in 2:32.62 and 2:47.97, respectively.
The final event on the track for the Ephs was the 4x800m relays. Three teams competed for Williams. The first team of Clara Gahm '28, Lily Yampolsky'28, Nora Johnson '25, and Greta Vaughn '26 took second place with a time of 9:43.85. The second team of Grace Kaercher '25, Sophie Rosencrans '25, Charlene Peng '27, and Mariem Sayahi '26 took fourth place with a time of 9:49.73. The third team of Ephs – Hayley Ballard '27, Julia Brennan '27, Fiona Picone '26, and Uma Champe '28 – placed sixth with a time of 9:56.61.
Overall, the Spring Break Classic marked an impressive outdoor season opener for the Ephs – filled with multiple personal bests, DIII New Englands qualifications, and a new 100m school record. The Ephs look forward to returning to Emory next weekend at the Thrills in the Hills Meet from March 28th to the 29th.
