FAIRFAX, Va. — Richmond won four medals — a gold, two silvers, and a bronze — and saw nine runners advance to Sunday’s finals on Day 1 of the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship Saturday at George Mason. With six of the 22 events completed, the Spiders are second in team scoring with 32 points, trailing only George Mason (37.5).
Richmond’s top event Saturday was the long jump, as Molly Wise won gold and teammate Alicia Dawson took bronze. Wise’s first leap of the competition measured 6.12 meters, a personal best. She easily outdistanced runner-up Kendall Johnson from Dayton, whose best jump measured 6.00 meters. Dawson took third with a jump of 5.95 meters.
In the final event of the day, Laurel Kurtz broke away from a pack of medal hopefuls with two laps remaining to grab silver in the 10,000 M in a driving rain. Her time of 35: 41.97 knocked more than 18 seconds off her personal best. Richmond’s two other runners in the race, Manon Stephen and Paige Joycealso ran personal bests, with Stephen finishing 12th in 36:51.50 and Joyce placing 17th in 37:27.01.
Before, Elizabeth Stockman Duquesne’s Hailey Hamilton outsprinted over the final 100 meters to win silver in the 3,000 M steeplechase in 10:25.02, a personal best. The race was Stockman’s second of the day, as she was also one of four Spiders to advance through preliminaries to the Sunday’s finals of the 1,500 M. Stockman (4:32.54) and teammate Madison Trippett (4:27.73), the defending 1,500 M A-10 champion, each won their preliminary heats. Brooke Reif (4:37.25) and Dylan Miller (4:38.60) also qualified, with Miller running a personal best.
Richmond will also have multiple finalists in the 800 M and 400 M races Sunday. In the 800, the Spiders will be represented by Morgan Lyonswho finished second in her heat in a time of 2:10.11, and Caroline Donohoe, who won her heat in 2:12.01. In the 400 M, a pair of Spiders won their heats to advance, with Ginny Beringer winning the second heat in 55.43 and Elke Van Der Westhuizen winning the fifth heat in 55.67.
Van Der Westhuizen will also race in the 200 M final Sunday. She was the only Spider to advance out of the preliminary round, winning the fifth heat with a time of 24.85.
Sunday’s program will start at 11 AM with the women’s 4 x 100 M relay.
Spiders Medal Winners Saturday
Gold – Molly Wise (Long Jump)
Silver – Elizabeth Stockman (3,000 M Steeplechase), Lauren Kurtz (10,000 M)
Bronze – Alicia Dawson (Long Jump)
Spiders Qualifiers Saturday
1,500 M – Madison Trippett, Elizabeth Stockman, Brooke Reif, Dylan Miller
800M – Morgan Lyons, Caroline Donohoe
400 M – Ginny Beringer, Elke Van Der Westhuizen
200M – Elke Van Der Westhuizen
