ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Montreat College women's track & field team traveled up the road on Friday and Saturday to Asheville, N.C. to compete in the Asheville Bulldog Invitational, hosted by UNC Asheville. With 33 entries across 14 events, the Cavaliers delivered a strong showing, highlighted by two school records, five top-five finishes and 10 personal-best performances.
The track action opened on Friday with the 100m hurdles, where Emma Barnes notched a standout effort. She claimed second in a field of 15 while setting a new personal best and school record of 14.62 seconds, nearly half a second faster than her previous program mark.
Carrying that momentum into the 5000m, Carlyn Bobo placed sixth out of 31 competitors while setting a new personal best of 18:23.91. Elena Fibraio followed with a superb outing of her own, slicing more than 40 seconds off her previous mark to finish in 18:36.35. Naomi Smith rounded out the group, making her event debut and finishing 31st in 21:33.42.
Ragan Speer and Eliza Nelson both competed in the 3000m steeplechase. Speer finished sixth in a nine-athlete field while trimming nearly 10 seconds off her previous best to post a 12:54.98. Nelson made her debut in the event and finished just behind her teammate in seventh with a time of 13:23.56.
In the field events, day one showcased impressive all-around performances from Barnes in the long jump and javelin. The Parkwood High School product finished sixth in a long jump field of 16 with a mark of 4.95m. She closed out her day in dominant fashion in the javelin, winning the event over 17 other competitors while setting new school and personal records with a throw of 39.41m. Isis Rain Giron also participated in the event, placing 15th with a mark of 26.44m.
Shelby Brown competed in the hammer throw and earned a top-10 finish, placing ninth out of 20 athletes with a mark of 38.68m. Izzi Ackerman followed in 15th with a throw of 34.02m.
Day two opened on the track with Barnes setting a new personal best in the 100m dash, clocking in at 12.69 and shaving 0.25 seconds off her previous top mark, good for 10th. In the 400m, Kaylene Manternach ended 10th with a time of 1:00.04.
Macy Parks led the Cavaliers in the 800m, crossing the line in a new personal-best time of 2:19.24 to place ninth out of 27. A trio of Montreat runners followed closely as Jasmine Hernandez finished 13th with a new best time of 2:26.64, while Natalia Nieto concluded 14th in 2:25.51. Anna Baugh rounded out the group with a 15th-place finish in 2:29.28.
The field events were highlighted by Lydia Norman, who placed third out of 12 competitors in the triple jump with a mark of 11.21m. Trinety Dajuste followed in seventh, setting a new personal best with a leap of 10.65m.
In the discus throw, Rain Giron paced Montreat with a 10th-place finish, recording a mark of 33.25m. Teammates Ackerman and Brown also competed, placing 17th and 19th with throws of 24.99m and 22.44m, respectively.
Barnes capped off an impressive weekend with a fourth-place finish in the shot put, recording a mark of 12.37m in a field of 22 athletes. Brown and Ackerman followed closely as they finished 16th and 17th with throws of 9.18m and 9.01m, respectively.
For full results from the Asheville Bulldog Invite click here.
The Cavaliers return to action on April 16–17 as they head to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the Wake Forest Invitational.
