NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Haverford College women's track and field team opened the 2026 portion of its indoor schedule with a strong showing at the Ramapo Invitational, competing inside The Armory on Friday morning. First-year Taniya Denson headlined the day by breaking the Haverford College women's indoor pole vault record, soaring to a height of 3.17 meters (10 feet, 4.75 inches).
After clearing heights of 2.87 meters (9 feet, 5 inches) and 3.02 meters (9 feet, 10.75 inches), Denson rose to clear a personal-best mark of 3.17 meters, eclipsing the previous record set by Mairead Ferry '18 by three-quarters of an inch. The mark also ties the program's all-time school record.
The women's sprints opened with junior Nadine Tang placing 26th in the 60-meter preliminaries with a time of 8.56 seconds. In the unseeded section, first-year Madison Lewis recorded a personal best to finish third in 9.19 seconds, while Abigail Miyake followed in sixth at 9.46.
Sophomore Beatrice Di Girolamo competed in the 60-meter hurdles preliminaries, placing 21st overall with a season-best time of 10.06 seconds.
In the 200 meters, senior Olivia D'Aulerio led the Fords with a 17th-place finish in 26.55 seconds. First-year Lorelei Middleton recorded a personal best of 27.65 to place 29th, while Tang doubled back to finish 36th in 28.05. Lewis added another personal best, crossing the line in 30.09 to place 56th.
D'Aulerio continued her strong day in the 400 meters, placing fourth overall with a season-best time of 58.32 seconds. Middleton followed with an eighth-place finish in 59.40, while sophomores Emery Casucci and Katie Strutton placed 37th and 39th, respectively. Casucci ran 1:08.54, while Strutton posted a personal-best time of 1:09.70.
The 800 meters featured multiple strong performances, led by senior Carly Priest's 10th-place finish in a season-best time of 2:26.21. Jessie Hausman followed closely in 12th with a time of 2:29.51. Sophia Furman placed 16th in 2:35.31, while junior Judy Xie recorded a personal best of 2:49.52 to finish 30th.
In the mile, junior Anastasia Jaycobs led the way with a fourth-place finish in 5:20.12. Savannah Shaw followed in sixth at 5:22.97, while sophomore Maia Poremba added a personal best with a seventh-place finish in 5:24.33. Bianca Ortiz rounded out the quartet in 20th with a season-best time of 5:47.84.
The distance group continued its success in the 3,000 meters, led by Alice Sappenfield's fourth-place finish and personal-best time of 10:53.75. Poppy Chrisman placed 12th in 11:55.02, while first-year Madeline Ruchelman followed closely in 13th at 11:55.12. Claire Parsons rounded out the event with an 18th-place finish and a personal-best time of 12:31.17.
In the 5,000 meters, junior Grace Chen delivered one of the top performances of the meet, finishing second overall in 18:53.20. First-year Keiko Chinen placed sixth with a time of 21:28.82.
Di Girolamo also led the long jump contingent, finishing seventh with a season-best leap of 5.00 meters (16 feet, 5.00 inches). Grace Hannigan placed 14th with a mark of 4.68 meters (15 feet, 4.25 inches) and added a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 10.26 meters (33 feet, 8.00 inches).
Senior Sarah Wilcher turned in a pair of sixth-place finishes in the throwing events, recording a mark of 11.41 meters (37 feet, 5.25 inches) in the shot put and following with a throw of 12.10 meters (39 feet, 8.50 inches) in the weight throw.
Closing out the meet was the 4x400-meter relay, as the team of Devyn Telleen, Di Girolamo, Jaycobs, and Priest placed fifth with a time of 4:16.33.
The Fords will return to action at Alumni Field House, hosting the Seamus McElligott Invitational on Saturday, January 24, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
