PITTSFORD, NY – Highlighted by a school record and a No. 1-ranked time, the University of Rochester women's track & field team got their 2024-25 indoor campaign off to a tremendous start at Friday evening's Nazareth Alumni Opener at the Golisano Training Center.
 
Megan Bell smashed the school record in the 1,000 meters, breaking Alyssa Arre's previous record of 2:58.80 by more than four seconds, as the senior led a UR sweep in the event, with the Yellowjackets taking all five top spots.
 
Bell came in with a time of 2:54.71, also a new facility record and personal best, to take home the top spot, while Rita Sciortino placed second (3:11.76), Emily Dill took third (3:12.70) and Julia Lantner (3:15.19) and Isabella Doty (3:20.23) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with Dill, Lanter and Doty all setting new personal bests.
 
Bell also ran in the 4x400 relay for Rochester, helping the Yellowjackets set the top mark in Division III. Nora Chen, Eva Ciuffetelli, Raquella Casserino and Bell combined to run a first-place time of 3:59.10, an All-Atlantic Region Indoor Championship (AARTFC) qualifier, and currently the top time in NCAA DIII.
 
UR's 'B' and 'C' relay teams finished fifth and sixth in the event, with the 'B' squad of Peyton Classer, Sciortino, Lantner and Dill placing fifth with a time of 4:19.10, while Julia Largett, Julie Durham, Doty and Grace McInerney took sixth (4:22.87).
 
In the other relay event, the 4x200-meter relay, Tina Kyriacou, Maya Hatch, Lizzie Merrill and Toni Adewakun combined for a 1:52.98 time, good for a third-place result.
 
The Yellowjackets added several more top-10 marks on the indoor qualifying list, the first two of which came in the 400 meters. Chen and Ciuffetelli finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 400 meters, both notching AARTFC qualifying times and finishing with top-10 times in DIII. Chen came in second with a time of 59.02, while Ciuffetelli clocked in at 59.47.
 
Chen also ran the 60-meter hurdles, finishing third in the prelims with a new PR of 9.42, an AARTFC qualifier and top-10 mark in Division III, before taking sixth in the finals with a 9.58 second time.
 
Katie Atkins joined Chen in the prelims and finished 10th overall, crossing the finish line in 10.11, and was also one of UR's two placers in the pole vault, finishing seventh at 2.85 meters, while Abby Kopeck was the 'Jackets top finisher, making it over the 3.15m bar.
 
Elsewhere in the field events, four Yellowjackets finished in the top 10 in the shot put, led by Cora Rose's 12.23m, fourth-place toss, an AARTFC qualifier and top-10 mark in DIII, while Aimee Oszer also notched a regional qualifying mark, setting a new personal best with an 11.92m throw, good for sixth at the meet and currently 10th in DIII.
 
Deziree Garrick then came in eighth with an 11.38m toss, while Madison Vargas finished in 10th with a 10.96m throw. Garrick also led UR in the weight throw, taking fourth with a 15.07m throw, an AARTFC qualifier, with Rose three spots behind in seventh with a 14.16m toss, while Liv Ilasz finished in ninth, throwing the weight 14.10m.
 
Both Garrick and Rose's throws currently sit in the top 10 in DIII, with Ilasz just outside the top 10 in 11th.
 
Gracie Conlan was Rochester's top finisher in the triple jump, coming in fifth with a 10.56m leap, while Ashleigh Barrett finished 10th in the long jump at 4.99m. Rounding out the jumping events, Lily Hubert placed eighth in the high jump, surpassing the 1.38m bar.
 
Sadie Omilian got Rochester's evening at the Alumni Opener started with the 60-meter preliminaries, just missing a qualifying spot for the finals with an 8.36-second time, good for ninth overall.
 
Casserino then ran the sophomore's first event of the evening, the 300 meters, pacing the 'Jackets in the field with a sixth-place result and a time of 44.73.
 
Peyton Classer was Rochester's top finisher in the 500 meters, taking second place (1:22.67), while Alyssa Horng finished fourth in the mile, clocking in with a time that currently ranks in the top 10 in Division III, 5:33.49. Grace Park joined Horng in the top 10 of the mile, placing 10th (6:12.61).
 
Adriana Ochoa and Kara Goldstein rounded out the distance events for Rochester with the 3,000 meters, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 12:07.27 and 12:09.41.
 
Following the holiday break, the Yellowjackets next compete again at Nazareth University at the Conference Challenge Cup on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 10:00 a.m. in Pittsford, NY.