SALEM, Va.— Montreat's women's track and field team divided and conquered this week as one group of Cavaliers competed in the Bast-Cregger Invitational, and another group went to the East Coast Elite Sprint & Field Meet. Both groups came home with three event wins as well as other accolades.
 
At the Bast-Cregger Invitational, the Cavs competed in 13 events with a total of 28 entries, seven of which were event debuts. Montreat broke two school records and notched four NAIA National Standards. The Cavs also snatched six personal bests and won three events outright.
 
Dylan Garcia shined for yet another record-breaking performance in the 1000m race, shattering her own mark by over three seconds. Her 2:55.43 time earned her an NAIA 'A' standard. All but one Cavalier that started the race finished in the top 10. Behind Garcia were Macy Parks in fifth, Brooke Wiebe in sixth, Yessenia Castellanos in eighth and Natalia Nieto in tenth. Elena Fibraio made her event debut and finished with a quality time of 3:31.18, good enough for 18^th place.
 
The 5000m event also featured fantastic results. Montreat took the top two spots as Ali Ray and Heather Murphy snagged NAIA 'B' standards with their times of 17:37.14 and 17:45.40, respectively. Ray's time was a new personal record. Teammates Carlyn Bobo and Aubrey Bahner also placed well for Montreat. Bobo finished fifth while Bahner came in 12^th.
 
Montreat also showed off their teamwork in the relay events, taking a victory in the 4x800m and the distance medley. The 4x800 team featured Anna Baugh, Kaylene Manternach, Jasmine Hernandez and Emily Standifer. They clocked a 10:14.15 time to take the top spot in the event. The DMR team highlighted Garcia, Manternach, Wiebe and Murphy. The star-studded lineup finished with an 'A' standard time of 12:17.62, more than 50 seconds faster than second place.
 
Manternach finished fourth in the 400m race. Not only was the 1:01.02 time a personal best, but she also broke the school record by less than six-tenths of a second. Freshman Corrie Williams also competed and finished 18^th with a time of 1:06.67.
 
Emma Barnes was an eighth-place finisher in the pentathlon over the weekend. Montreat's record holder in the event tallied 2,741 points over the five events. She dazzled in the shot put as she finished first, collecting 594 points towards her score. Barnes scored the highest in the 60m hurdles when she collected 716 points finishing 13^th.
 
The 800m run starred Castellanos and Parks finishing in the top 10 with times of 2:25.58 and 2:26.59. Their efforts were good enough for sixth and ninth, respectively. Two more Cavaliers grasped new personal records in the event. Nieto and Baugh finished 13^th (2:30.24) and 18^th (2:31.73) while hitting their new marks.
 
Montreat also competed in a rare event, the 500m race. Josie Chenevey finished 18^th with a 1:36.87 in her debut.
 
The group that competed at the East Coast Elite Sprint & Field Meet also showed out for Montreat. In this outing, Montreat competed in four events with 14 total entries, two of which were event debuts. The Cavs did not break any records or hit any national standards, but they managed to collect five personal bests and win three events.
 
In all four events, not a single Cavalier finished outside of the top-nine competitors. Their day was kicked off by Stephanie Hinojos in the high jump, who in her event debut swiped first place with a 1.22m bound.
 
The long jump featured four Cavs. Jessica Gakeri placed first with a 5.42m leap. Behind her was Lydia Norman in third with a 4.95m jump. Next was Adrianna Gullette with a fourth-place 4.84m effort in her event debut. Hinojos sprung to a new personal best with a seventh-place finish at 4.15m.
 
The two throwing events were next. Five Montreat athletes competed in the weight throw. Shelby Brown took the top spot with a 10.76m hurl. Three teammates threw for new career bests in Isis Rain Giron, Hinojos and Izzi Ackerman. The trio finished second, fourth and fifth altogether. Mercy Shavers placed sixth with a 6.64m heave.
 
The shot put was the only event in which the Cavaliers did not win. Rain Giron concluded second with a toss of 9.61m. Two more Cavs registered top-five performances. Brown and Hinojos placed fourth and fifth with 8.88m and 8.76m efforts. Ackerman set a new career best with a ninth-place 7.77m throw in the event.
 
For the full results from the Bast-Cregger Invitational, click here.
 
For the full results from the East Coast Elite meet, click here.
 
After the remarkable performances over the weekend, the Cavaliers will compete next in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Feb. 10-11.