PITTSFORD, NY – The University of Rochester women's track & field team had an impressive evening at the Nazareth Conference Tune Up on Friday inside the Golisano Training Center, winning six events, netting 16 top-three finishes and hitting 13 All-Atlantic Region Indoor Track & Field (AARTFC) qualifying marks.
 
Nora Chen was the Yellowjackets' lone double-winner at the meet, taking the top spot in the 60-meter hurdles, and helped URochester's 4x400-meter relay take the top spot and improve its time. Chen came in first in both the 60-meter hurdle prelims and final, clocking in with AARTFC marks in both heats.
 
Chen won her heat and finished atop the prelim standings with a time of 8.93 seconds, while Katie Atkins joined the junior in qualifying with a seventh-place finish and time of 8.18 seconds. Then in the final, Chen crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 8.96 seconds.
 
In the 4x400-meter relay, Chen ran the final lap of Rochester's relay alongside Raquella Casserino, Eva Ciuffetelli and Lauren Murphy, combining for a first-place time of 3:53.62, a regional qualifier and the 17th-fastest 4x400-meter relay in Division III so far this season. Rochester's 'B' relay of Rita Sciortino, Emily Dill, Lizzie Merrill and Isabella Doty also took second in the event, hitting an AARTFC qualifying mark with their 4:05.85 time.
 
Two of Rochester's other event wins came in the field events, where Ashleigh Barrett topped the podium in the long jump, and Aimee Oszer won the shot put. Barrett led four 'Jackets in the top eight of the long jump, finishing first with a 5.48m leap, an AARTFC qualifier and No. 50 on the NCAA Division III Indoor Qualifying List.
 
Barrett was joined in the top eight by Anna Johnson, who also hit a regional qualifier and set a new PR with a 5.32 leap, good for third place, Grace McInerney (5th, 5.14m) and Sadie Omilian (6th, 5.12m).
 
Oszer won the shot put with a 13.01m throw, another AARTFC qualifier, while Madison Vargas took third with a 12.38m toss, a new personal-best throw and a regional-qualifying throw.
 
Vargas also hit another AARTFC mark in the weight throw, pacing the Yellowjackets with a second-place finish and 16.61m toss.
 
Rochester's other two event wins came in the middle-distance events, the 400-meter invite and 800 meters. Peyton Classer won the 400-meter invite with a new, personal-best time of 1:01.67, with Doty (2rd, 1:03.18) and Maya Hatch (3rd, 1:03.25) joining Classer in the top three. While in the 800 meters, Molly FitzGibbons took the top spot, hitting an AARTFC qualifier with her first-place finish and time of 2:17.62.
 
Sciortino came in a few spots behind FitzGibbons, hitting an AARTFC-qualifying mark with her time of 2:19.14, good for fourth in the 800 meters, while Sam Mermelstein finished 10th (2:27.98).
 
Elsewhere in the field events, Atkins was Rochester's top performer in the pole vault with a height of 3.20m, good for fourth, while Nora Dreslin and Cassie Ward took third and fifth, respectively, in the high jump, with heights of 1.48m and 1.43m.
 
Murphy finished second in the triple jump with an 11.32m leap, another AARTFC qualifier, while Ellerie Finger took third, leaping 9.95m.
 
Back on the track, Adriana Ochoa got Rochester's evening started with the 5,000 meters, taking second with a time of 20:21.38.
 
Jordan Smith qualified for the 60-meter finals out of the prelims, finishing sixth in the prelims with an 8.18-second time, while Lizzie Merrill placed 10th (8.270s). In the final, Smith finished one spot better, taking sixth with a time of 8.16 seconds.
 
Four Yellowjackets finished in the top 10 of the mile, led by Riley Joseph, who clocked in with an AARTFC qualifier and new personal-best time of 5:14.76, third overall. Dill took fifth place with a time of 5:18.88, Ella Blau set a new PR with her seventh-place finish and time of 5:26.93, while Maria Khalifeh came in ninth at 5:28.41.
 
Classer also ran in the 200-meter open and earned Rochester's top spot, sixth, with a time of 28.01 seconds, while Toni Adewakun took ninth, crossing the finish line in 29.11 seconds.
 
Ariane Yedidia then wrapped up the individual events on the track with the 3,000 meters, placing ninth with a time of 12:05.25.
 
Rochester next competes at the Liberty League Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by RIT in Henrietta, NY, beginning on Friday, Feb. 27 at 11:45 a.m.