SELINSGROVE, PA – The Alfred University women's track & field team competed in the Jim Taylor Invitational hosted by Susquehanna University on Saturday.
 
The Saxons had multiple Top-10 finishes and many others who neared the milestone on Saturday. The top individual finish was Ashley O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She finished fifth with a lifetime personal best time of 13:11.37, just behind the time of 13:07.34, clocked by Alfred University alumna and recipient of AU's prestigious, Nicholas F. Clark '11 Ideal Saxon Award, Holly Passetti '21, competing for the Penn State Track & Field Club. O'Toole was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished seventh. O'Toole joined Nyah Solly (Colden, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute), Sarah Lutkins (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs) and McKenzie Hall (Hornell, NY/Hornell) for a time of 4:32.24.
 
"We travelled down to Susquehanna this weekend to preview the regionals facility. We got to compete against some schools from PA that we normally don't compete against," Interim Head Coach Matt Phillips '10 said. "Despite the colder weather we had some strong performances. On the men's and women's side, we saw their performances reflect the hard work they have been putting in. Over the next few weeks we will look to build on this strong start and are looking forward to see what more this group can do."
 
Solly had the next top finish as she marked 10.78m (35'-4.5") in the triple jump for fifth place, followed closely by Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) and her sixth attempt mark of 10.66m (34'-11.75") in seventh place.
 
There were two Saxons that earned sixth place finishes on Saturday. Mari Jablonski (Monticello, GA/Jasper County) clocked a time of 42:17.79 in the 10,000-meter run. Bianca Durso (Utica, NY/New Hartford Senior) also finished sixth in the high jump with a height of 1.52m (4'-11.75"), exiting at the same height as the fourth and fifth place finishers but due to the number of fouls, ended sixth. She led Anne Spila (Mechanicsburg, PA/Trinity) and Ion in the event. Spila took seventh with a height of 1.47m (4'-9.75") and Ion was tied for 10^th with a clearing of 1.42m (4'-7.75").
 
Spila added an eighth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.22. Madison Palmer (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) also had an eighth place finish in the shot put with a distance of 11.24m (36'-10.5").
 
The Saxons who were close to Top-10 finishes were led by Lina Young (North Collins, NY/North Collins) as she had two events close to the milestone. Her top finish was in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.50 for 11^th place and added a time of 13.44 in the 100-meter dash for 12^th overall. Hall also finished 12^th in a photo finish in the 800-meter run. She was marked with a time of 2:33.39, the same time as a runner from Frostburg State, but when the timing system was broken down to the thousandth of a second, Hall ran a 2:33.384 compared to the 13^th place time of 2:33.388. Durso closed out the top finishes with a distance of 4.65m (15'-3.25") in the long jump, hitting the mark on her third attempt for 13^th place.
 
The Saxons will next compete at SUNY Geneseo for a two-day meet on Friday, March 31 at 3:00pm and Saturday, April 1 at 10:00am.