RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Yale women's track and field team wrapped up competition at the Raleigh Relays Saturday, capping a three-day meet that marked the team's return to outdoor competition for the first time since 2019. As they had done throughout the meet, the Bulldogs showed plenty of potential Saturday.
Following solid performances in the 100m dash Friday, junior
Aliya Boshnak, senior
Libby McMahon and senior
Ava Thomas joined senior
Sophie Isom in the 4x100m relay Saturday. Through three exchanges, the Bulldogs had built a sizable advantage, but they were unfortunately unable to complete the final exchange. Despite not finishing the race, the team showed great potential and would have threatened the current Yale record. In the 800m dash, seniors
Jocelyn Chau and
Maya Sharp competed against hundreds of other athletes, finishing third and fourth respectively among Ivy League competitors. For Sharp, her time of 2:13.14 was a new personal best.
In the 400m hurdles, senior
Addison Coy took second overall, completing the race in 59.84s. Coy's time was slightly more than a second over her time of 58.77 from 2018, which ranked her second in Yale history.
The next event on the track was the 200m dash, where Isom dropped a personal best time of 24.91, securing a top 10 spot in the Yale record book.
The final event on the track was the 4x4 and the Yale team, consisting of first year
Iris Bergman, Coy, McMahon and Sharp, was placed in the fastest heat of the day. The Bulldogs came out strong and were in contention for a top-three finish until the last moments.
Not to be outdone by the performances of her team on the track, senior captain
Emma Vasen surpassed her personal best in the hammer throw by a substantial difference. Her throw of 174 feet 7 inches is the second-furthest throw in Yale history and nearly 20 feet better than her previous personal best of 154 feet 9 inches.
Considering the Bulldogs had competed in an outdoor track meet since 2019, it is remarkable to see so many of them able to surpass or be near their best marks so early in the season.
