Cornwall Breaks School Record at Outdoor Season Opener

(LEXINGTON, VA.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team opened the outdoor season at Foster Stadium on Friday and Saturday in Lexington, Virginia at the Washington and Lee Track and Field Carnival hosted by Washington and Lee University. The women finished with three top performances and numerous personal records.

"This weekend was an excellent first step in the outdoor season as we prepare for UAAs in April. We had some very nice weather which helped everyone continue on the trend they established in the indoor season," said head coach Gary Aldrich.

Freshman Lindy Cornwall (Poway, Calif. / Poway) threw a school record in the discus in her first outdoor meet of her collegiate career. Cornwall placed third with a throw of 38.25 meters. "I didn't expect to throw that far on my first try. It went really well for the beginning of the season. Because I was able to do that on my first throw, I'm really hopeful for where this season is going," said Cornwall. The freshman is also a member of the Carnegie Mellon women's tennis team and competed in Orlando, Florida earlier this week.

Senior Tessa Allen (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Bishop Montgomery) won the high jump clearing 1.59 meters. Allen also placed second in the triple jump in 10.81 meters. Freshman Sami Johnson (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) followed Allen with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump in 10.48 meters.

Junior Michelle Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic) placed first in the pole vault with a height of 3.52 meters. Fellow junior Joanna Baranowski (Syosset, N.Y. / Syosset) cleared 3.07 meters placing fifth in the pole vault. Baranowski also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 16.54 and sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:09.

In the 800-meter run, senior Rose Ciriello (Madison, N.J. / Madison) placed first in a time of 2:18 while junior Valerie Collins placed seventh in a time of 2:26. Junior Kate Reilly (Scranton, Pa. / Scranton Prep) finished fourth in the 1,500-meter in personal record of 4:50. Collins also placed seventh in the 1500-meter in a time of 4:56.

Senior Debarati Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio / New Albany) placed third both in the 100-meter dash in a time of 12.93 and the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.24. Junior Abigail Levine (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) placed second in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 18:29, while freshman Kristen Seballos (Cleveland, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) finished eighth in 19:23.

The 4x400-meter relay team of Baranowski, Ciriello, junior Keegan Barone (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago), and Bhanja placed second in a time of 4:08.

Senior Alexa Barriero (Middletown, N.J. / Middletown North) finished second in the javelin with a throw of 34.34 meters. Sophomore Alessandra Tully (Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) placed ninth in the hammer with a throw of 35.97 meters. Senior Claire Yuan (San Jose, Calif. / Lynbrook) jumped 4.76 meters in the long jump to place fifth overall.

The Tartans will compete next at home at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 at Gesling Stadium.