HENRIETTA, NY – The University of Rochester women's track and field team returned to action for the first time in 2026 and took home seven event wins and 12 top-three results at the RIT January Invite on Friday evening inside Gordon Fieldhouse.
 
Nora Chen got the Yellowjackets' evening started with the 60-meter hurdles, topping the prelims with a first-place time of 9.01 seconds, a new personal-best time, an All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Championships (AARTFC) qualifier, and the 21st-fastest mark in NCAA Division III so far this season.
 
The junior later finished second in the 60-meter hurdle finals with a time of 9.12 seconds, and then topped the 200-meter field. Chen crossed the finish line in 25.67 seconds, another AARTFC qualifier and the 18th-fastest 200 meters in DIII this season.
 
Molly FitzGibbons added Rochester's third event win on the track in the mile, taking first place with a time of 5:04.36, good for a regional qualifier, one of nine AARTFC marks the 'Jackets tallied on the day.'
 
Riley Joseph added another AARTFC qualifier and the Yellowjackets' fourth event win on the track with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meters, sweeping the top-three places alongside Alyssa Horng and Ella Blau. Joseph took first with a time of 10:38.94, a new personal best, while Horng came in second with another PR (10:40.36) and Blau placed third (10:40.61), with Emily Dill joining the trio in the top eight with a sixth-place result and 11:01.65 time.
 
URochester's final first-place result on the track came in the 4x200-meter relay, where Chen, along with Lizzie Merrill, Jordan Smith and Rita Sciortino clocked in at 1:48.25, good for the top spot in the event and an AARTFC mark. Rochester's 'B' relay of Raelen Green, Sadie Omilian, Toni Adewakun and Zoe Noble took seventh in the relay, crossing the finish line in 2:02.29.
 
Sciortino also paced the Yellowjackets in the 400 meters, placing third with a time of 1:01.57, while Dill finished fifth, clocking in at 1:02.88, and Peyton Classer took 10th (1:04.72). Merrill was Rochester's top finisher in the 60-meter prelims, setting a new PR with a 13th-place finish and 8.24-second time.
 
In the field events, Aimee Ozser topped the field in the shot put with a 13.06m toss, an AARTFC qualifier and the 17th-best shot put in Division III so far this season. Madison Vargas joined Oszer in the top eight with a seventh-place finish and AARTFC-qualifying 12.18m throw, and was also URochester's top placer in the weight throw with a 14.32m toss, good for seventh.
 
Lauren Murphy came in third in the long jump, leaping the 21st-best long jump in DIII with a 5.53m jump, with Ashleigh Barrett close behind her in sixth with a 5.46m leap. Both jumps were also good enough to qualify for regionals.

And late into the night, Murphy made it seven first-place finishes for the Yellowjackets, winning the triple jump just shy of midnight with an 11.82m leap, her second AARTFC qualifier of the meet.
 
In the high jump, Cassie Ward was Rochester's top finisher, tying for 12th at 1.43m, while Katie Atkins tied for 15th in the pole vault, surpassing 3.02m.
 
Elsewhere on the track, CC Leavitt took Rochester's top spot in the 800 meters (25th, 2:34.95) and then clocked in on URochester's 'B' 4x400-meter relay.
 
Classer, Isabella Doty, FitzGibbons and Julia Lantner ran on the Yellowjackets' 'A' relay and finished with a time of 4:21.97, good for fourth, while Leavitt, Katie Punch, Sam Mermelstein and Maria Khalifeh combined for a time of 4:35.06, good for eighth.
 
The Yellowjackets will next compete at the Conference Challenge Cup, hosted by Nazareth University at the Golisano Training Center on Saturday, Jan. 31 beginning at 10:00 a.m.