Tartans Top the Field at Noke Elite Meet

(ROANOKE, Va.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team placed first with 173 points at the Noke Elite Meet hosted by Roanoke College this Saturday, February 9. The Tartans finished in front of second-place Washington and Lee University and third-place Denison University. This year marked the team's first appearance at the Noke Elite Meet. 

"For a major change in our schedule, the results turned out very well," said head coach Gary Aldrich, "We excelled in many areas and had a number of lifetime- and season-best performances today. We continued our progress towards competing well at the University Athletic Association (UAA) meet. I'm especially proud of how everyone competed whether it was against themselves, the tape, or the clock."  

Senior Tessa Allen (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Bishop Montgomery) scored a collegiate personal record in the high jump, clearing 1.62 meters. "I think what helped me the most today was my teammates who have been pushing me to work hard throughout the week," said Allen. Seniors Autumn Hair (Blue Bell, Pa. / Wissahickon) and Claire Yuan (San Jose, Calif. / Lynbrook) were first and second in the long jump with leaps of 4.87 meters and 4.76 meters, respectively. Hair and Yuan also scored third- and fourth-place finishes in the 60-meter dash in 8.37 and 8.43 seconds, respectively. 

Freshman Sami Johnson (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) won the triple jump with a mark of 10.22 meters. "Coming off an injury, I was really happy to prove to myself that I could do that again," said the freshman. Junior Michelle Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic) scored her third consecutive win of the season in the pole vault, clearing a height of 3.47 meters. 

Sophomore Megan Rice (Fairfax, Va. / Fairfax) ran to a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 19:21. Junior Leah Kendrick (Doylestown, Pa. / Central Bucks East) scored first in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 9.33 and second in the 200-meter dash in 27.79. Junior Abigail Levine (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) ran to a personal best in the 3,000-meters in a time of 10:27, placing second overall. 

Senior Rose Ciriello (Madison, N.J. / Madison) won the 800-meter run in a time of 2:22. Junior Kate Reilly (Scranton, Pa. / Scranton Prep) placed first in the mile run in 5:16, while fellow junior Valerie Collins (Wellesley, Mass. / Wellesley) placed third in 5:30. Senior Debarati Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio / New Albany) won the 400-meter dash in one-minute flat, and sophomore Valerie Reiling (Concord, Mass / Concord Carlisle Regional) placed fifth in 1:05. 

The 4x400-meter relay team of junior Joanna Baranowski (Syosset, N.Y. / Syosset), Ciriello, Reiling, and Bhanja closed out the meet with a win in a time of 4:15. 

The Tartans will compete again next Friday, February 15 at the Ohio State Indoor Collegiate Meet in Columbus, Ohio, and next Saturday, February 16 at the Mount Union Raider Tune-Up in Alliance, Ohio.