Rebecca Krenzer – Contributing Writer

rlk5568@psu.edu

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Behrend’s Women’s Indoor Track and Field team competed in the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championships on March 1 and 2. The two-day meet was hosted by Nazareth University. 

On the first day of the meet, Senior Madison Kappeler earned All-AARTFC honors for the team in her performance in the women’s Pole Vault event. Kappeler achieved a tied fourth position alongside Erin Eastwood of Ithaca in the pole vault event, reaching a personal-best height of 11-3 ¾. In the 5000-meter race, sophomore Lindsey Hartle finished 22nd with a time of 19:39.08. By the end of the first day of races, the Behrend women earned 4.5 points, placing them in 18th position in the standings.

On the final day, the Penn State Behrend women’s indoor track & field team took part in the triple jump and the 4×200-meter relay events. The 4×200-meter relay team, composed of Madison Kappeler, Brooke Reding, Peyton Grimm, and Ivy Laffan, finished with a time of 1:52.34, earning them a 20th-place finish. Meanwhile, in the triple jump event, freshman Rylee Long represented the Lions and jumped a distance of 35.25 feet. The team finished 30th out of 38 teams. 

Lindsey Hartle and her teammates are thrilled with their team performances during the indoor championship meets, especially when considering that they had less than a week to rest and recover between the conference meet and regionals. 

During the United East Conference Championship meet on February 25 and 26, the Lady Lions earned a first place overall team finish and St. Mary’s College finished in second place by less than half of a point. It was a close meet, and Behrend’s win came down to the very last event with Paige Massey throwing shot put. 

“We didn’t tell her, of course,” said Lindsey Hartle, “but we knew that she needed to place either where she was seeded or higher in order to win the meet.” Massey’s personal best throw earned her a third place finish in the event and secured the team championship title. Penn State Behrend is a first year member of the United East Conference and the team is hoping that this is the first of many championship titles to come. 

The team will now start preparing for this year’s outdoor track season. The conference has changed since last season, but it will still be very competitive. St. Mary’s will likely prove to be just as competitive in the outdoor season as they were indoors. Having a successful indoor season has a huge impact on the team’s morale. “Everybody is very excited for the outdoor season,” said Hartle, “There’s no break, so having this motivation is a great way to pull us through.” The Lions are scheduled to compete in their first outdoor meet of the season on March 29 and 30 at Carnegie Mellon.