March 30, 2013
Complete Results
EASTON, Pa. - Led by first-place performances by senior Genevieve Ruppel (long jump) and freshman Dannah Hayward (400H) and a combined 26 points from senior high jumper Hannah Boyce, junior sprinter Mercedes Yanora and sophomore hurdler Kayla Charles, the women's track and field team totaled 74 points for a fourth-place finish at the Lafayette 7-Way Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Lafayette College, the meet's runner-up, hosted meet-champion Rider, Colgate, East Stroudsburg, Fordham, Lehigh, Moravian, Muhlenberg, and Saint Joseph's at the Metzger Athletic Complex in Easton, Pa.
Ruppel earned 10 points with her win in the long jump with an outdoor personal-record mark of 5.36m (17' 7"). The senior captain also took home a seventh-place finish in the 100m with a personal-record 12.75, missing a point by just 0:04.
Coming off of a remarkable indoor season in which Hayward broke school records in one individual and one relay event, the freshman continued her dominance with a win in her first collegiate 400m hurdles. Hayward's time of 1:03.73 was just over one second shy of a new SJU school record in the event and earned the rookie 10 points for the Hawks.
Boyce was a crucial factor in the jump scene, taking home the silver in the high jump (1.66, 5' 5 1/4") and a fifth-place finish in the long jump with an outdoor personal-record 5.19m (17' 1/2") to become the third Hawk to record 10 points for the Crimson and Gray.
Making her individual outdoor debut after running just two relays last season, Yanora controlled the short sprints with a third-place finish in the 100m (12.43, PR) and fifth-place finish in the 200m (25.67, PR) for a total of eight points. Charles put forth a personal-record 100H performance (14.62) to take home a second-place, eight-point finish in the event.
SJU's two relay teams combined for 10 points on the day. The 4x400m relay team of Hayward, senior captain Shannon Geddes, Charles, and junior Jaclyn Kogut took third (3:54.98, six points) while the 4x100m relay of Yanora, senior Francesca D'Angelo, freshman Carly McGowan, and sophomore Kathryn Polaski took fourth (49.01, four points).
Sophomore jumper Gabriella Becattini led the Hawks in the triple jump (10.96, 35' 11 1/2") for six more points while sophomore Brianna Hunt (long jump, 5.22m, 17' 1 1/2", PR) and senior captain Sara Walker (3000m, 10:19.22, PR) tallied four points apiece and junior Kathryn Pratt (400m, 58.77), D'Angelo (100H, 15.17) and Polaski (long jump, 5.11, 16' 9 1/4) rounded out the scoring for SJU.
Saint Joseph's returns to action next weekend at the Colonial Relays, scheduled from April 5-6. The meet will be hosted by the College of William and Mary at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Va. and will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
