Bhanja Sets School Record in 200 Meter Dash

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – The Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team won its annual Carnegie Mellon Quad on Saturday. The Tartans scored 232 points, defeating second place Westminster College who finished with 143.50 points. The women turned in 13 first-place finishes and swept four events as a team.

Senior Debarati Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio / New Albany) broke the 200-meter school record, turning in a time of 25.72. Bhanja also holds the school record in the 100-meter dash, today the senior won the 100-meter in a time of 12.80. Also in the 100-meter dash, senior Clare Yuan (San Jose, Calif. / Lynbrook) took fourth place in a time of 13.50. In the 200-meter, junior Leah Kendrick (Doylestown, Pa. / Central Bucks East) placed third in a career-best time of 26.93, while sophomore Valerie Reiling (Concord, Mass. / Concord Carlisle Regional) took fifth in 27.35.

Valerie Reiling won the 400-meter dash in a collegiate best time of 1:01. Senior Rose Ciriello (Madison, N.J. / Madison) also turned in a career-best performance in the 1,500-meter run finishing in a time of 4:48. Junior Valerie Collins took second in a time of 4:56, while senior Alice Duan (Torrance, Calif. / West) finished in fourth with a season-best time of 4:59. Junior Kate Reilly (Scranton, Pa. / Scranton Prep) placed second in the 800-meter in a time of 2:24.

In the 3,000-meter run, junior Abigail Levine (Bethesda, Md. / Bethesda Chevy Chase) finished second in 10:23, sophomore Parvathi Meyyappan (Cupertino, Calif. / Monta Vista) finished third in 10:58 and freshman Kristen Seballos (Cleveland, Ohio / Padua Franciscan) took fifth in 11:11. Junior Emmalyn Lindsey (Eugene, Ore. / South Eugene) finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 12:55.

The Tartans swept the 100-meter hurdles led by Kendrick who finished first in 15.74, followed by senior Autumn Hair (Blue Bell, Pa. / Wissahickon) in second in 16.21, junior Joanna Baranowski (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago) finished third in 16.71, freshman Samantha Johnson (Thousand Oaks, Calif. / Thousand Oaks) finished fourth in 17.38, and junior Keegan Barone (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago) who finished fifth in 17.42. In the 400-meter hurdles, Johanna Baranowski placed first in 1:06, Barone placed second in 1:10 and Freshman Diva Oriane Marty (Tokyo, Japan / American School of Japan) finished third in 1:10.

Senior Tessa Allen (Manhattan Beach, Calif. / Bishop Montgomery) won the high jump clearing 1.52 meters. Junior Michelle Karabin (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic) finished second in the pole clearing 3.43 meters. Hair won the long jump with 5.14 meters, and Yuan placed third with 4.71 meters. Hair also won the triple jump with 10.31 meters, while Allen placed second in 10.23 and Johnson placed third with 10.15 meters.

Sophomore Alessandra Tully (Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) won the discus with a throw of 27.60 meters and placed second in the shot put with 9.46 meters. In the hammer throw, Alexa Barriero (Middletown, N.J. / Middletown North) won the event with a throw of 35.82 meters. Barriero also won the javelin with a toss of 35.03 meters while Allen placed second with 23.52 meters.

The Tartans' 4x100-meter relay team of Hair, Reiling, Kendrick, and Bhanja placed second in a time of 50.72. The 4x400-meter relay team of Baranowski, Ciriello, Reiling and Bhanja won the event in 4:08.

The Tartans will travel to the Dave Labor Invitational on Saturday, April 6 hosted by Slippery Rock University.