COLUMBIA, S.C.— The Montreat women's track & field team opened the outdoor slate of its 2022 season on Friday and Saturday at the CIU Rams Invitational in Columbia, S.C. Competing across nine events, the Cavaliers racked up a first-place finish, a near-school record and numerous top-10 performances.
 
Montreat found a sizable chunk of success across three running events on Saturday afternoon. Yessenia Castellanos continued to leave her mark on the Montreat women's track and field program with a spectacular performance in the 800m. Not only did Castellanos win the women's 800m, but her 2:20.55 time fell just 0.57 seconds shy of matching a Montreat record. A trio of Cavaliers joined Castellanos in the top 10 of the 800m, with Emily Standifer finishing third (2:24.26), Mahaley Cronk placing ninth (2:32.61) and Catherine Slack crossing the end line in 10^th (2:33.25).
 
Castellanos led the same quartet of Cavaliers to top-10 finishes in the 1500m, placing fourth with her time of 4:53.56. Cronk joined Castellanos in the top five after recording a time just 1.06 seconds beyond the five-minute mark. Slack (5:08.47) and Standifer (5:12.65) finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
 
One other Cavalier tallied a top-10 result in Saturday's running events: Anna Tastinger. Completing the 100m hurdles in 16.88 seconds, Tastinger wrapped up her performance in eighth.
 
Montreat competed in one field event on Friday before participating in four more on Saturday. On Friday, Mackenzie Card seized a 10^th-place result in the hammer throw with her 31.91m effort.
 
The Cavaliers tallied three top-10 placements on Saturday, led by Jessica Gakeri's 5.28m leap in the long jump, a distance that was good for runner-up in the event. Triniti Lockhart also placed in the top 10 in the women's long jump, bounding 4.90m for seventh place. Meanwhile, Tastinger finished in a tie for seventh in the women's pole vault (2.70m).
 
For a complete list of results from the CIU Rams Invitational, click here.
 
The Montreat women's track and field team continues its 2022 outdoor season with a two-day home meet next weekend. The Montreat College Invitational begins on Friday at 10:00 a.m. in Black Mountain, N.C.