CANTON, NY – The University of Rochester women's track & field team notched a trio of first-place finishes and sent eight women into Saturday's finals on day one of the 2026 Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, hosted by St. Lawrence University at the Merrick-Pinkard Track & Field Complex.
 
Two of Rochester's first-place finishes came in the opening day finals, where Molly FitzGibbons won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a new, program record time, and Lauren Murphy topped the long jump.
 
FitzGibbons smashed the previous steeplechase record, set by Anne Peterson in 2017, by nearly 10 seconds, setting a new meet record with her 10:33.71 time, which currently ranks fourth on the NCAA Division III Outdoor Qualifying List. Kara Goldstein joined FitzGibbons in the top eight, placing eighth with her 11:44.74 time, with both FitzGibbons and Goldstein's times surpassing the All-Atlantic Region (AARTFC) outdoor qualifying mark.
 
Murphy led four 'Jackets in the top five of the long jump, topping the field with a 5.58m leap. Ashleigh Barrett came in third with a 5.53m jump, equaling her personal best, while Anna Johnson and Grace McInerney came in fourth and fifth, respectively, each with leaps of 5.44m. Both Johnson and McInerney's leaps were new, personal bests, while all four 'Jackets' marks were AARTFC qualifiers.
 
Elsewhere in the field events, both Madison Vargas and Aimee Oszer scored in the hammer throw, with Vargas leading the pair with a sixth-place finish and 46.92m toss, an AARTFC qualifier, while Oszer's 42.98m throw was good for eighth and a new PR.
 
Katie Atkins led Rochester in both the pole vault and javelin toss, placing sixth in the pole vault with a height of 3.27m, and coming in ninth in the javelin with a 31.05m throw.
 
In the day's final event, the 10,000 meters, both Alyssa Horng and Ella Blau ran to top-eight finishes, placing seventh and eighth. Horng came in seventh with a time of 36:51.21, a PR, while Blau clocked in at 36:54.01, with both times hitting the regional-qualifying mark.
 
Earlier in the day, in the sprint and middle-distance prelims, Nora Chen kicked off her day with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles and a first-place finish in the 400 meters to qualify for Saturday's finals. Chen's time of 14.49 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles was a new personal best, an AARTFC qualifier and ranks 28th on the outdoor qualifying list.
 
While in the 400 meters, Chen set another personal-best time, crossing the finish line in 55.32 seconds, good for 11th on the outdoor qualifying list. Rochester went 1-2-3 in the 400-meter prelims, with Raquella Casserino and Lizzie Merrill coming in second and third, respectively, with times of 57.15s and 57.84s. All three 'Jackets in the 400 meters also hit the AARTFC qualifying time, and set new personal bests.
 
URochester sent two more qualifiers to Saturday's finals in the 200 meters, as well as the 800 meters. Eva Ciuffetelli led Rochester in the 800 meters, qualifying with her third-place finish and time of 2:15.89, as did Rita Sciortino, with her seventh-place finish and 2:16.99 time. Both Ciuffetelli and Sciortino's times were also regional qualifiers, as was Emily Dill's, who came in 10th, clocking in at 2:18.09.
 
In the 200 meters, both Casserino and Merrill qualified for Saturday's final, placing fourth and fifth, with times of 25.27 seconds and 25.32 seconds, respectively. Both times were again AARTFC qualifiers and set new personal bests.
 
Toni Adewakun led Rochester in the 100 meters, crossing the finish line in 13.14 seconds, good for 17th.
 
In the heptathlon, Julia Largett leads the three competing Yellowjackets through four events with 2,157 points, good for seventh place and 392 points shy of first. Cassie Ward sits right behind her in eighth place with 2,157 points, with McInerney right behind her in ninth with 2,122 points.
 
Largett set a new personal-best time in the 100-meter hurdles (7th, 16.38s), and added a top-six result in the high jump (6th, 1.37m) on day one of the seven-event competition. Ward notched two fifth-place results in the high jump (1.43m) and shot put (8.23m), while McInerney set new personal bests in the 100-meter hurdles (10th, 17.26) and 200 meters (2nd, 26.80s), and added a fourth-place result in the shot put (8.58m).
 
Through six-scored events, Ithaca leads the field with 70 points, with RPI in second with 52 points, and Rochester in third with 46 points.
 
Rochester will be back on the track for day two of the Liberty League Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Canton, NY, on Saturday, May 2, beginning at 10:30 a.m.