Women's Track and Field Shows Strength in Winning Day at Cupid Challenge

MEDFORD, MA (February 8, 2025) - The Tufts University women's indoor track and field team had a Saturday of strong performances during the second day of competition at the Tufts Cupid Challenge in the Gantcher Center.

The day began with the sprints, and sophomore Simisola Lawal set the tone for the Jumbos with a third place finish in the 60m dash. Her 7.94 finish tied her personal best and was the 98th fastest time in the NCAA Division III this season. 

First year Cameron Stanton followed Lawal in the 60m hurdles, and followed in Lawal's footsteps by setting a new personal best with a 9.49 finish. The time was enough to propel Stanton into second place, the highest finish of her career so far. 

Fellow first year Makayla Moriarty was up next in the 200m dash and became the third Jumbo to improve their personal best. Her third place finish in 26.23 seconds improved her personal record by five thousandths. Lawal finished fifth in the event with a 26.52.

A pair of Jumbos finished on the podium in the 400m, with senior Annika Kral taking second with a 58.88. Moriarty was hot on her heels, finishing in third with a personal best time of 58.96. Kral's time was the 65th fastest and Moriarty's the 69th fastest time in the NCAA Division III.

Senior Emma Smith finished fourth in the 600m run with a 1:38.74 before first year Phoebe Bryar set a new personal best in the 800m run with a 2:19.49, improving by almost eight seconds. 

The Jumbos maintained their strong performances in the distance events, starting with a third place finish in the 1000m run by sophomore Kaya West. Her 3:08.55 was just seven thousandths ahead of the fourth place finisher. 

Junior Lexi Dean also took third in the mile, finishing with a 5:08.32. Fellow junior Carly Rinko was just a few seconds behind her teammate, finishing fifth with a 5:11.54.

The runners finished the day with the 4x400m relay. The Jumbos' squad of Logan Elie, Phoebe Bryar, Carly Rinko and Julia Dolce took fifth place with a 4:14.59, behind conference foes Amherst and Connecticut College but ahead of NESCAC rivals Wesleyan and Trinity (Conn.).

Lexi King became the first Jumbo to win an event by taking first place in the high jump. Her top mark of 1.61m was five centimeters above the second place finisher, Lauren Grattan of Trinity. 

Their dominance in the field events continued as senior Jordan Andrew took first place in the long jump with the 36th best leap in the NCAA Division III, a mark of 5.46m. First year Elysse Cumberland was just behind her in second, finishing with the 49th best mark in the NCAA Division III, a 5.41m jump. 

Senior Sarah Firth took first place in the pole vault once again, continuing her complete control over her competition. Her winning vault of 3.70m (12-01.50) was nearly a foot higher than the second place finisher, and marked the third straight meet with a win in the pole vault for the senior phenom.

Cumberland and Andrew took the podium once again in the triple jump, with the first year taking first place. Cumberland jumped for a 11.40m mark, a new personal best and the 26th longest triple jump in the NCAA Division III this season. Andrew finished second with a 10.83m mark.

First year Mia Kurtz continued to improve in the shot put, taking third place with a personal best throw of 11.53m. Sophomore Jackie Wells also set a new personal best, but in the weight throw. Her 14.97m toss was an increase of her record by 1.76m and earned second place in the event. 

Overall it was a strong showing for the Jumbos, with continued development on the track and an excellent showing on the field.

Tufts will head back to Boston University this coming Friday, February 14th to compete in the David Hemry Valentine Invitational, with competition beginning in Boston at 3:00 pm.