MILL SPRING, N.C.— The Montreat College women's track & field team sent a contingent of student-athletes to Tryon International in Mill Spring, N.C. on Friday and Saturday for the Tryon Winter Invitational. With 15 total entries across 10 events, the Cavaliers notched one school record and one win to go along with seven top-20 placements.
 
Emma Barnes opened the weekend with a spectacular showing in the pentathlon. In Friday's five-event competition, Barnes bested 19 NCAA Division I athletes and 23 other participants to take first place overall. The Waxhaw, N.C. native not only won the event, but she also broke her own school record, totaling 3,176 points to eclipse her previous top mark by 260 points. Going into the event, Barnes' effort would have ranked 12^th in the NAIA. The top 16 results at the end of the season garner an invite to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships.
 
The Cavs picked up two additional top-20 performances on Friday, both of which occurred on the track. In the 1000m, Anna Baugh's event debut resulted in a 16^th-place time of 3:25.09. Meanwhile, Natalia Nieto secured 18^th place out of 30 600m runners with a time of 1:49.72.
 
Saturday included several additional top-20 efforts for Montreat, including one top-five showing. Junior Macy Parks ran her way to a 2:24.27 time in the 800m, good for fourth out of 29 competitors. The Denver, N.C. native came within a few tenths of a second from setting a new personal best. Eliza Nelson joined her teammate in the event, marking her debut with a 24^th-place finish (2:48.69).
 
Lydia Norman delivered strong performances on day two with the long jump and the triple jump. In the former competition, Norman ended 11^th out of 37 jumpers thanks to a personal-best distance of 5.23m. In the latter action, the upperclassman bounded 10.60m to finish 18^th of 26.
 
Aubrey Bahner capped off the Cavaliers' top-20 efforts on the track Saturday afternoon. Participating in the one mile, Bahner's 5:30.59 time proved good enough for 19^th out of 45. Her teammates Ragan Speer and Elena Fibraio also ran in the event, finishing 23^rd and 24^th, respectively. The former notched a personal-best time of 5:36.90, while the latter needed 5:37.99 to complete her race.
 
For a look at results from the Tryon Winter Invitational, click here.
 
The Montreat College women's track & field team returns to action next Friday and Saturday for the Hokie Invitational, hosted by Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Va.