ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's track and field picked up four places and qualified three sprinters for their respective finals heats on a solid second day of the Centennial Conference outdoor championship at Muhlenberg.
At day's end, the Bears still sat in fifth place with 28 total points. Ursinus is just 2.50 points behind Haverford in fourth.
Junior Sophia Simoes outdistanced her previous best by over five feet in the discus, taking sixth place with a 112-8. Sophomore Vikki Rueda-Juarez' mark of 110-6 was a personal record by nearly eight feet and good enough for seventh, giving the Bears more valuable team points.
Sophomore Gianna Speranza earned a place in the high jump for the second year in a row, clearing 4-10.50 to take fifth, though her highest mark was technically good for a tie for third.
Senior Caroline Buckley established a personal best in the long jump, going 16-6.50 to place sixth and move up five spots from last year. Speranza was one slot out of scoring range, landing ninth with a 16-1.75.
Senior Brittany Gasser blazed her way to a 59.22 in the 400-meter dash prelims, a PR by more than a second and enough to finish fourth and book a spot in the final. Sophomore Michela Coleman's 1:01.85 was also a personal best.
Speranza was also one spot out of qualifying range in the 100-meter dash, but freshman Kate Hunt was able to punch her ticket to Sunday's final with a career-best 12.58 – good for fifth in the prelims. Sophomore Molly Rodebaugh's 13.03 was a PR by .15 seconds.
Freshman Rosie Cuomo will also compete in a finals heat on Sunday, taking seventh in the 100-meter hurdles prelims with a time of 16.53.
Sophomore Rachel Coleman nabbed the eighth and final spot in the 200-meter dash finals, crossing the line in 26.74.
Senior Riley Engel joined freshman Lauren Ferguson, sophomore Meredith Steele, and freshman Rachel Conhoff to finish eighth in the 4x800-meter relay (10:26.01).
Conhoff finished 11th in the steeplechase at 12:48.58.