WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The University of Rochester women's track & field team notched six All-Atlantic Region (AARTFC) qualifying marks, set a new school record, and tallied four top-five results on the opening day of the Colonial Relays, hosted by The College of William & Mary inside Zable Stadium.
 
Nora Chen broke her own school record in the 400-meter hurdles, shaving 0.08 seconds off her previous mark. The junior took the top spot in the event with a time of 1:00.13, notching an AARTFC qualifier with the fastest time in NCAA Division III so far this season.
 
Riley Joseph scored another top-three result for the Yellowjackets in the 1,500-meter open, setting a new personal-best mark with her second-place finish and 4:48.40 time. Joseph's mark was also good for a regional qualifier, while Maria Kahlifeh joined the senior in the top 10 with a ninth-place finish and 4:56.18 time.
 
URochester added two more top-five finishes in the throws events, where Madison Vargas led the 'Jackets in the hammer throw, and Aimee Oszer paced UR in the javelin toss.
 
Vargas finished fourth in the hammer throw with a 48.11m throw, a regional qualifier and the 33rd-longest hammer throw in Division III so far this season.
 
Oszer finished 11th with a new PR, 39.21m, in the hammer throw, and then matched Vargas' finish with another fourth-place result in the javelin, hitting the AARTFC qualifying mark with her 36.66m toss, good for 48th on the NCAA Division III Outdoor Qualifying List. Cassidy Romano joined Oszer in the top 10 of the javelin with a 27.23m throw, good for 10th.
 
With their four top-five finishes, the Yellowjackets sit in sixth place with 21 points in the 17-team field through the first day of competition at the Colonial Relays. Bucknell holds the top spot in the team standings with 97.5 points, with host William & Mary (82 points) and Marist (37 points) rounding out the top three. Among Division III squads, the 'Jackets rank second behind Washington & Lee, who sits in fourth place with 32.5 points.
 
Elsewhere in the field events, Katie Atkins notched a top-10 result in the pole vault, finishing ninth with a height of 3.27m, a new PR, while Anna Johnson (12th, 5.28m) and Grace McInerney (15th, 5.12m) were the Yellowjackets' top-two finishers in the long jump.
 
Emily Dill got Rochester's day started out on the track with the 800 meters, clocking in at 2:21.33, good for 15th in the 35-runner field. Atkins then paced URochester in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 16.34 seconds, a new personal-best time and good for 11th place.
 
Lizzie Merrill led Rochester in both the 100 and 200 meters, finishing 23rd in the 100 meters (12.68s) and 20th in the 200 meters (25.90s), setting new personal-best times in both events.
 
In the 400 meters, Raquella Casserino added another top-10 result, coming in 10th with a time of 57.97 seconds.
 
Rochester's distance runners then wrapped up the first day on the track with the 5,000-meter invite, earning a pair of top-20 finishes with two sub-18-minute times. Alyssa Horng and Ella Blau finished 16th and 17th, and both notched All-Atlantic Region qualifying marks. Horng set a new personal-best time of 17:53.34, while Blau crossed the finish line just seconds later in 17:58.29.
 
The Yellowjackets will be back in action in Williamsburg, VA for the final day of the Colonial Relays on Saturday, April 4 beginning at 10:00 a.m.