GENESEO, NY – Madeline O'Connell broke her own school record in the pole vault, leading the way for the University of Rochester women's track & field team on a banner final day of the SUNY Geneseo Early Season Invitational on Monday evening at the Geneseo Track & Field Complex.
 
O'Connell's vault of 3.85m, the best among the 12 competitors, broke her previous record of 3.82m, set back in 2021. O'Connell's new record of 3.85m currently ranks in the Top 5 in NCAA Division III and far surpasses the All-Atlantic Region (AARTFC) qualifying standard of 3.25m.
 
O'Connell's regionally-qualifying performance was one of nine on the day for the Yellowjackets, as UR set nine, new personal bests, one school record and placed eight times on the NCAA Division III Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
In the field events, Ashleigh Barrett and Alyssa Hoogs each placed jumps on the qualifying lists, while Susan Bansbach, Megan Bell, Kate Isaac and O'Connell all placed times in the track events.
 
O'Connell added another first-place finish in the 100 meters, leading the way for four Rochester sprinters. O'Connell finished first with a personal-best time of 12.23, while Bansbach finished just seconds behind the senior at 12.31 in second, also a pr, with both times hitting regional qualifying marks.
 
Kristin Hardy also joined O'Connell and Bansbach in the Top 10 of the 100m with a 9th-place finish, clocking in with a personal best 12.75 time, while Tina Kyriacou finished 14th with a  time of 13.01
 
In the 200 meters, Bansbach scored the victory with a personal-best time of 25.14, which currently ranks in the Top 20 in Division III. Kate Isaac then came in third with a 25.76 time, with Ashley Heffernan right behind in fourth with a time of 25.77. All three times hit the AARTFC regional qualifying mark, while Isaac's time also placed her in the Top 50 of the outdoor qualifying list.
 
Rounding out the Top 10 in the 200 meters, Hardy finished sixth (26.16), while Megan Bell finished 9th with a personal-best time of 26.62.
 
Bell then led Rochester to another victory in the 400 meters, scoring a regional-qualifying and personal-best time of 57.86 with a first-place finish that ranks in the Top 10 in DIII.
 
Heffernan also added another podium finish to UR's tally, clocking in at 15.68 in the 100m hurdles, good for second.
 
In the field events, Barrett led UR in the long jump with a 5.39m jump and a fourth-place finish, good for a regional-qualifying mark and a Top-30 mark. Hoogs came up just behind Barrett in the long jump with a fourth-place jump of 5.32m but finished ahead of Barrett in the triple jump.
 
Hoogs took home second in the triple jump with an 11.24m jump, a new personal best and a regional-qualifying jump which also ranks in the Top 20 in DIII, while Barrett finished fifth at 10.76m.
 
Quinn Taylor (8th, 4.82m) and Yeidi Yuja (9th, 4.82m) also added Top-10 finishes for Rochester in the long jump, as did Trinity Johnson (10th, 9.50m) in the triple jump.
 
In the high jump, Nora Dreslin led the way for Rochester with a 1.42m jump, good for 11th, while Cora Rose paced the 'Jackets in the shot put with an 11.46m throw.
 
In the final event of the day, the hammer throw, Vanessa Wish set a new, personal best with a 43.62m throw, finishing 5th, while Livia Ilasz (9th, 42.41) and Gillian Reeder (10th, 41.53) also added Top-10 finishes.
 
Next up for Rochester is a split-squad weekend, with the Duke University Invitational beginning on Friday, April 7 at 9:30 a.m., and the RIT Invitational on Saturday, April 8 at 10:00 a.m.