ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University women's track & field team wrapped up its final invitational before the Empire 8 Outdoor Championships as the Saxons finished 11^th out of 15 teams at the University of Rochester Alumni Invitational on Saturday.
 
The Saxons scored 14 team points, defeating Division II Le Moyne College and its 13 team points as well as Division III opponents, Alfred State College (seven points), Fredonia (four points) and Houghton College (two points). All 14 of AU's points came from the field events.
 
Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) had the top finish of the day as she won the triple jump with a mark of 10.96m, scoring 10 of the Saxons' points. She defeated all 14 competitors by half a foot or more. Ion qualified for finals on Saturday with her first hop-skip-jump attempt, marking 10.85m. Her top mark occurred on her fourth overall attempt as four of her six jumps were over the All-Atlantic Track & Field Championship (AARTFC) qualifying distance of 10.80m.
 
The Saxons added its final four points from Madison Palmer (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) when she threw 11.49m in the shot put to finish fifth. Like Ion, Palmer's top throw of the day occurred in the finals, throwing her fourth attempt. She qualified for the final round with her second throw which landed 11.37m from the circle. Palmer also had a strong showing in the hammer throw, finishing 12^th with a throw of 41.62m.
 
Anne Spila (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) was one fault short of tying for a scoring position in the high jump as she cleared 1.45m to finish ninth. She also threw 23.06m in the javelin, finishing 15^th. McKenzie Hall (Hornell, NY/Hornell) ran a 2:28.93 to finish 12^th in the 800-meter run, rounding out the top finishes for AU on Saturday.
 
The Saxons will next compete in the two-day, Empire 8 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by neighboring Houghton College on Friday and Saturday, May 6 and May 7.