The Shippensburg University women’s track-and-field team achieved three NCAA provisional marks among its field events on Saturday on a strong afternoon and evening of competition from the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University.
There were many standouts on the day, but the throws squad hit the highest notes. Leading the way was junior All-American Morgan DeFloria in the javelin, who made her season debut and placed third on a top throw of 153 feet, 11 inches that slots her atop the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and approximately fifth on the NCAA Division II performance list.
Senior All-American Crystal Hartman improved her season best in the javelin to 144 feet, another NCAA provisional mark for her, that has her third on the PSAC performance list and 15th in NCAA Division II.
Redshirt-senior Paige Shirk took fourth in the discus on a NCAA provisional throw of 146 feet, 11 inches which came on her second attempt of the day. Her sixth and final throw was also strong — 145 feet, 7 inches.
Shirk was one of four Raiders to meet the conference-qualifying standard in the discus — redshirt-senior Ava Bonetti achieved a top mark of 135 feet, 8 inches while freshman Ashley Kerr had a top throw of 127 feet, 4 inches in picking up their PSAC qualifiers for the season.
Freshman Jackie Arthur not only placed eighth in the discus on a new best of 135 feet, 9 inches, but she made a season breakthrough in the javelin with an excellent throw of 133 feet, 5 inches. Arthur is currently ranked among the Top 10 on the PSAC performance list in all four throwing events, including a Top 5 ranking in three throws.
Redshirt-junior Abby Wagner had a tremendous sequence in the triple jump despite dealing with a substantially negative wind. Undaunted, Wagner posted a mark of at least 37 feet, 3 inches on all six of her jumps. Her best mark, 38 feet, 2 3/4 inches, came despite a strong headwind working against her. Wagner’s fourth and fifth jumps equaled 38 feet, while her sixth attempt was a mark of 37 feet, 8 inches.
Junior Olivia Lee continued her solid season in the triple jump with a mark of 36 feet, 8 1/2 inches – just an inch shy of her season best that has her ranked seventh in the conference at the moment.
On the track, four Raiders achieved PSAC qualifiers among mid-distance and distance events. In the 1,500 meters, freshman Isabella Marchini nearly reached her season best by running 4:50.61, while senior Bryanna Dissinger ran 11:28.64 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Freshman Natalee Serwatka paced the Raiders in the 5K by running 18:24.84, while redshirt-junior Lizzie Manickas achieved her PSAC qualifier in the event by running 18:25.32.
Competition resumed Sunday at 10 a.m.
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