OXFORD, MS – The Women's Track & Field Team had a day filled with personal and season best performances, as well as several national qualifying marks at the Ole Miss Invitational. Competing against primarily Division I and II schools, the Lynx rose to the occasion in standout fashion.

                In the field events, senior Becky Atnip threw a lifetime best distance of 100'5” (30.61m) in the javelin, finishing close behind freshman teammate Alison Lang's (Colt's Neck, NJ) distance of 107'10” (32.88m).  The 400m dash saw a huge season's best from freshman Sam Specht (Saint Petersburg, FL). Her time of 58.21 beat out competition from the likes of Southern Illinois University, Arkansas State University and Ole Miss. Freshman Megan Lee also ran to a season's best time of 1:00.48. In the 1,500m race, freshman Maddie Harrigan (Chesterfield, MO) ran a very strong race, crossing the line in 5:01.40. Sophomore Caroline Webster (Ellsworth, ME) was not far behind, besting her previous seasons best by nearly fifteen seconds to finish in a time of 5:08.40. In the 5,000m sophomore Taylor Stephens (Southlake, TX) established a new personal best to finish in fifth place. Her time of 17:52.09 was twenty-five seconds faster than the sixth place finisher from Alabama. Fellow teammate, senior Melissa DeFabrizio (Richmond Hill, Ontario), also established a new personal record of 18:53.38 to place thirteenth out of thirty-nine competitors. Continuing with the trend of personal records, freshman Whitney Langston (Austin, TX) achieved her goal of breaking the twenty minute mark, surpassing it by nearly fifteen seconds, to finish in 19:46.25.

                The 400m hurdle race saw junior Molly Buck (Austin, TX) reset her own school record for the second time this season, running to an eleventh place finish in a time of 1:02.89. Buck's time improved her status in the national standings as she now currently holds the third fastest time in the country for Division III. Also running well were Rachel and Elizabeth Bernard (Southlake, TX); their respective times of 1:10.09 and 1:11.60 were both season best performances. Coming incredibly close to also achieving a national qualifying standard was senior co-captain Cybil Covic (Cordova, TN) in the 3,000m steeplechase. Her time of 11:15.10 was a mere two seconds away from the standard, but it did establish a new school record, and placed her fourth in the race – the highest finish achieved at the meet by the Lynx . Finishing in fifth place was teammate junior Kelsey Dudziak (Williamstown, MA), crossing the line in 11:30.85.

                In what was perhaps one of the most exciting race of the day, the 4x400m relay team of Lee, Specht, senior co-captain Julia Goss (St. Louis, MO), and Buck all ran exceptional legs to finish in a national qualifying time of 3:54.34. Their time improved upon the team's previous season best by five seconds, and currently ranks them fourth in the country.       

                In all, it was an excellent meet for the Lynx; against some of the best athletes in collegiate Track & Field they held their own and competed their way to many outstanding performances. The next competition will take place at city rival the University of Memphis on Saturday April 17^th.