JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.— After winning the indoor conference title earlier this semester, the Montreat women's track & field team went for the sweep Thursday through Saturday at the AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Johnson City, Tenn. Behind five event titles, 11 all-conference efforts and 25 scoring performances, the Cavaliers racked up 137 points, ultimately capturing second place on the team leaderboard. The squad fell just four points shy of conference champion Columbia College, who totaled 141 points.
 
Montreat concluded day one with 33 points, good for first overall through five events. In total, the Cavs notched five scoring performances on Thursday. Heather Murphy delivered the top showing early on, winning the 10k by a comfortable margin. The Portarlington, Ireland native broke the conference meet record with a time of 36:58.35. An NAIA 'B' standard effort, Murphy garnered all-conference accolades with her title. Teammate Carlyn Bobo finished runner-up in the event, and she also received All-AAC recognition thanks to her 38:27.03 time.
 
Thursday evening featured a third all-conference performance for the Cavaliers. Anna Baugh, Macy Parks, Jasmine Hernandez and Yessenia Castellanos teamed up to place second with a time of 9:52.79 in the 4x800m relay.
 
Elizabeth Harrington had a noteworthy mark on day one as well. One of Montreat's five scoring performances, Harrington tied the program's high jump record. The Candler, N.C. native ended sixth with her personal-best mark of 1.48m.
 
The Cavs added 29 points to their total on day two, leaving them in fourth through 14 scored events. Overall, Montreat registered seven scoring efforts on Friday, including a pair of all-conference showings.
 
Saniya Miller, Lydia Norman, Adrianna Gullette and Emma Barnes garnered the first All-AAC nod for the Cavaliers on Friday. The teammates set a school record in the 4x100m relay, combining for a 48.18-second race. That time proved good enough for third out of eight squads.
 
While she wasn't a two-time all-conference honoree on day two, Miller did break another program record. The sophomore from Newton, N.C. shaved 0.15 seconds off her 100m dash school record, concluding the sprint in 12.34 seconds. Miller placed seventh out of 22 runners.
 
Montreat's final all-conference effort from Friday came during the evening window. Dylan Garcia ran a 'B' standard time of 4:33.94 in the 1500m, good for runner-up.
 
With more than half of the squad's all-conference and scoring performances coming on Saturday, the Cavs made their push back up the team leaderboard. Murphy seized the first of four event titles for Montreat on day three, winning the 5000m race thanks to an NAIA 'A' standard time of 16:48.49.
 
Barnes also delivered a championship performance during the morning window. The Waxhaw, N.C. native finished first or second in six of the seven heptathlon events. Barnes' consistency paid dividends as it helped her claim the overall event win and All-AAC honors with 4,089 points.
 
Garcia and Castellanos also garnered all-conference recognition with their showings in the 800m Saturday afternoon. The former capitalized on her 'B' standard time of 2:13.26 to finish runner-up, while the latter utilized a personal-best time of 2:17.27 to finish third out of 21 athletes.
 
Needing a late surge to have a chance at contending for the team title, Montreat gave itself hope. Brooke Wiebe took home the 3000m steeplechase crown by beating out a field of eight competitors with her 11:48.05 performance. Meanwhile, Gullette, Castellanos, Emily Standifer and Garcia combined for a meet and school record time of 3:57.13 to win the 4x400m relay. The championships and all-conference efforts brought the Cavaliers close to the Koalas, but Columbia scraped together just enough points across those final two events to hang on and win the meet.
 
Following the action, the AAC coaches got together to vote on numerous honors. Murphy came away from that discussion with the AAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year award.
 
For a complete look at results from the AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, click here.
 
With the conference meet in the rearview mirror, the Montreat women's track & field team sets its sights on notching additional national marks at a pair of last chance meets on May 2-3.