ITHACA, N.Y. -- Highlighted by Kayley DeLay's win in the 3,000 meters, the Yale women's track and field team posted many solid performances on day one of the 2020 Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships. In addition to DeLay's victory, another proud moment for the Bulldogs came from Erin Gerardo finishing fourth-place in the pole vault, marking her first podium finish at Heps.
In the first running event of the day for the Yale women, powerhouse Lillian Enes just barely missed her personal record in a hard-fought 60 meter dash. Running 7.67 seconds, Enes was one of the first runners out of the finals, narrowly missing an at-large qualifier and actually tying another runner's time who managed to qualify automatically from a different heat. Out of Yale's three 400 meter runners, Sophie Isom advanced to Sunday's finals, finishing second in her heat and running a speedy 56.81. This time marks a huge personal best for Isom, whose previous record from earlier this season was 57.28 seconds. In Sunday's finals, she will toe the line in one of two heats of the 400 meter finals.
Also qualifying into Sunday's finals were middle distance phenoms Samantha Friborg and Jocelyn Chau. Friborg cruised to an easy second-place finish in her heat, running 2:14.00 in a tactical 800 meter race which will surely go faster tomorrow. In the 1,000 meters, Chau finished second in her heat and second overall in a time of 2:52.06. She crossed the line only behind Penn's Nia Akins, who holds the conference record in the event and will also be racing in the one mile Sunday morning.
As the day drew to a close, four Yale women stepped on the track for the finals of the 3,000 meters. In a stacked event including many of the league's top distance runners, DeLay remained patient and kicked during the final two laps to extend her lead over Cornell's Gabrielle Orie, who finished second. DeLay's final time of 9:29.74 marks her second best ever, while Gemma Shepherd and Zoe Nuechterlein finished 11th and 12th in the crowded field. Despite losing her shoe in the first lap, senior Hannah Steffke ran perhaps the bravest race of the day to finish the 3,000 meters in 10:25.55.
Closing out the track events, Libby McMahon clinched an at-large qualifier for the 200 meters and will advance into Sunday's finals. On the field, Emma Vasen finished 10th in the weight throw, while both Angele Kelly and Sydney Kunkler had impressive performances in the long jump. Gerardo topped off the day with her fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a jump of 3.80 meters.
Sunday's events will begin for the Yale women with the 400 meters at 12:50 p.m., and live results from Saturday's and Sunday's events can be found here.
