PITTSFORD, NY – First-year Lauren Murphy broke the school record in the triple jump, one of several highlights from the University of Rochester women's track & field team as the 'Jackets opened the indoor season at the Nazareth Alumni Opener on Friday evening at the Golisano Training Center.
 
Murphy set a new program record in the triple jump with an 11.97m leap, breaking the previous record of 11.41m, set by Lonnie Garrett back in 2019. Murphy's jump was good for a first-place result in the triple jump, and hit the All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track & Field Championship standard (AARTFC).
 
The first-year was also Rochester's top finisher in the long jump, netting a third-place finish with a 5.44m jump, another regional qualifier. Ashleigh Barrett joined Murphy in the top eight of both events, finishing sixth in the long jump with an AARTFC-qualifying 5.31m jump, and seventh in the triple jump (10.34m), while Sadie Omilian placed ninth in the long jump with a new PR of 5.29m.
 
Elsewhere on the day, Rochester tallied four more first-place finishes for a total of five, 11 top-three finishes and 11 AARTFC qualifying marks.
 
Aimee Oszer took the top spot in the shot put, setting a new personal-best throw of 13.09m, as did Madison Vargas with a 12.25m shot put, with both throws hitting the AARTFC standard.
 
The pair were also Rochester's top finishers in the weight throw, with Vargas pacing URochester with a third-place finish and 15.24m throw, another personal-best mark and regional qualifier, while Oszer placed 14th (12.44m).
 
Nora Chen took home a pair of first-place finishes, winning the 400 meters and helping UR's 4x400-meter relay to the top spot on the podium. Chen came in first in the 400 meters, crossing the finish line in 57.97 seconds, slightly ahead of Eva Ciuffetelli, who clocked in at 58.96 seconds, with both marks being regional qualifiers.
 
Then the pair joined forces on URochester's 4x400-meter 'A' relay alongside Murphy and Jordan Smith, finishing first with a time of 3:59.39, another AARTFC qualifier. UR's 'B' relay of Maya Hatch, Rita Sciortino, Emily Dill and Molly FitzGibbons came in fifth place.
 
FitzGibbons notched Rochester's last first-place tally of the evening, topping the field in the mile. The graduate student won the race with a time of 5:03.19, an AARTFC qualifier, while Sciortino came in fourth, setting a new personal-best mark with her 5:34.41 time.

 

Zoe Noble got Rochester's day on the track started with the 60-meter hurdles, finishing four-one-thousandths of a second ahead of Julie Durham in the prelims, placing 20th with a time of 10.90 seconds, while Durham took home 21st. Then in the 60-meter prelims, Smith was Rochester's top finisher, coming in 12th (8.21).
 
Emily Dill led six Yellowjackets in the top 10 in the 1,000 meters, placing second with a time of 3:07.00. Peyton Classer came in third, crossing the finish line in 3:08.50, while Isabella Doty placed sixth (3:18.48), CC Leavitt finished seventh (3:18.87), Katie Punch crossed the finish line in eighth (3:22.07) and Julia Lantner rounded out the six 'Jackets with a ninth-place result (3:25.58).
 
Up next, Julia Largett was Rochester's top finisher in the 300 meters (11th, 46.56), while URochester's 4x200-meter relay of Lizzie Merrill, Hatch, Toni Adewakun and Omilian placed fourth with a regional-qualifying time of 1:51.42.
 
Kara Goldstein then wrapped up the Yellowjackets' individual day on the track with a PR in the 3,000 meters, crossing the finish line in fifth place with a time of 11:37.10.
 
Elsewhere in the field events, Nora Dreslin tied for seventh in the high jump, successfully making it over the 1.43m bar, as did Cassie Ward, who came in 10th.
 
In the pole vault, Katie Atkins finished sixth, surpassing a 3.02m height, while Maddie Unruh placed 11th, with a height of 2.87m.

The Yellowjackets are back in action when the calendar flips to January, making the short trip to Henrietta, NY for the RIT January Invite on Friday, Jan. 23 beginning at 4:00 p.m.