By Joyce Novacek

Writer

The women’s track team claimed four gold medals at the Towson Invitational to open the outdoor season. Laura Rycek ’11 won the javelin with a personal-record throw of 154 feet, 10 inches, the second-best throw in program history. Rebecca Misko ’12, Rebecca Frey ’11, Emily Ando ’14 and Caroline Tolli ’13 also earned victories at this unscored meet.

“I think the results from the meet were mixed,” Frey said. “Many runners did off-events, and it’s hard to go for personal bests in sprinting or jumping in cold weather, but a lot of people rose to the challenge and performed well.”

The Orange and Blue throwers dominated the javelin, earning all four top places. Kat Folger ’12 placed second, throwing a new personal best of 143 feet, which places her third all-time. Teammates Tayler Siegrist ’13 and Sarah Trahan ’12 took third and fourth, respectively.

“I had not thrown the discus in competition since the end of last outdoor season and was focused on getting a solid throw,” Misko said.

Misko, the defending Patriot League Champion, earned a gold at Towson, throwing the discuss 133 feet, four inches. “This performance gives me a great start and confidence for the rest of the season,” she said. “I think the team will be strong in the outdoor throwing events this season.”

In the jumps, the Orange and Blue swept the pole vault. Frey and Ando each cleared 10-6 to win the event. Teammate Autumn Schellenberger ’14 completed the Bison sweep by clearing 10 feet to place third.

Tolli earned the Bison’s only first-place finish on the track in the 1500-meter run, another event that the Bison swept. Kady Weisner ’14 took second, Sarah Moniz ’11 took third, and Alysha Hooper ’13 earned fourth.

The Orange and Blue had almost a dozen more top-three finishers.

The Bison will compete at the William and Mary Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. this weekend.