4x400 Relay Sets School Record as Tartan Women Place Fifth at UAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

(WALTHAM, Mass.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team finished fifth at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships as competition closed Sunday, February 26 at Brandeis University. The fifth-place finish marks the third straight for the Tartans.

The team of sophomore Debarati Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), junior Jerilyn James (Friendswood, Texas/Clear Brook), senior Ariel Tian (Acton, Mass./Acton Boxborough Regional) and junior Sarah Cook (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton) turned in a school record time in the 4x400 meter relay to earn All-UAA by placing third.

In the high jump, sophomore Tessa Allen (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Bishop Montgomery) cleared 1.59 meters to also earn All-UAA status with a third-place finish. Allen turned in a career-best performance in the triple jump when she placed sixth with a mark of 10.68 meters.

Freshman Julianne Igbokwe (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly) led the Tartans in the shot put as she finished fourth with a throw of 11.21 meters.

Junior Aparna Alavilli (Hanover , N.H./Hanover) just missed scoring a point for the Tartans in the 3,000-meter run when she was seventh in 10:23.31. The sixth-place finisher crossed the line in 10:23.16.

Senior Grace Yee (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding) set the school record in the pole vault on Saturday. She cleared the bar on Saturday at 3.77 meters to place second on a judges decision and topped her height of 3.71 meters set last weekend. 

The Tartans will open the outdoor season on March 17 at the Washington and Lee University Track and Field Carnival.