LYNCHBURG, Va.— The Montreat women's track & field team traveled to the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. for the Brant Tolsma Invitational, a three-day meet starting on Thursday. No Cavaliers competed on day one of the event, but that did not damper the performances from the rest of the competition.
The highlight of the meet was the record-breaking performances by
Dylan Garcia. Starting in the 800m event, Garcia finished 10
th with a 2:18.61, beating her own school record set in 2022 by 0.57 seconds. Cavalier teammate
Brooke Wiebe also set a new personal best time with a 2:21.52 in her 21
st-place finish.
Garcia wasn't finished, however. The mile run also featured a broken record and an NAIA "A" standard from the senior. She placed seventh in the race with a 4:55.67, breaking her own mark for a second time on Saturday. The previous record was set in her last meet appearance on Dec. 7 at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off. This time, it was fellow senior
Ali Ray who etched a personal best 5:15.83 to follow Garcia and finish 23
rd in the event.
The long-distance runners were on fire in Lynchburg. Freshman
Heather Murphy set a new personal best in the 3000m race after finishing fourth. She beat out numerous NCAA Division I runners with her 9:49.64 time, and she secured an 'A' standard. Ray (10:09.59) and Wiebe (10:31.22) joined her with top-30 finishes in 16
th and 29
th, respectively. Ray and
Carlyn Bobo (33
rd; 10:41.97) set personal top times with their performances.
Murphy also competed in the 1000m event for the first time as a Cavalier. She finished in 13
th place with a 3:03.78. Murphy was just 4.45 seconds behind Garcia's record in the event, which was set in 2023.
In the triple jump,
Jessica Gakeri had herself a day by securing an NAIA 'B' standard. Her eighth-place 11.63m mark was just a tenth of a meter short of her personal best. Sophomore
Lydia Norman finished 22
nd with a 10.49m jump.
To round out the meet,
Emma Barnes finished 26
th in the shot put with an 11.01m throw. Teammates
Isis Rain Giron and
Shelby Brown set new personal records with 9.76m and 8.95m marks, respectively.
To see the full results from the Brant Tolsma Invitational, click
here.
The Cavs will compete next at the Bast-Cregger Invitational from Jan. 31 through Feb. 1. The meet is the last event before the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 10 and 11.
