NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Yale women's track and field team will continue the University's 147 year old rivalry against Harvard on Saturday at the Harvard-Yale Dual Meet at the Cuyler Athletic Complex. The throwing events will begin at 12:00 p.m. and the action on the track will begin at 1:00 p.m.  With a meet of only two teams, there will be a much stronger focus on the team score this weekend. The Bulldogs have been greatly improving and are ready to face the Crimson on their home track.

In the sprinting events, senior Libby McMahon is going to be a true threat. After breaking multiple school records indoors and nearly breaking an outdoor record already this season, she is ready to make the Crimson work hard to challenge her.  Another Bulldog to look out for will be senior Ava Thomas, who has already put down an impressive 12.17 in the 100m this season at the Raleigh Relays. Seniors Sophie Isom, Addison Coy and Aliya Boshnak are also key players, as all three have been a part of scoring relay teams this season. Also sprinting for the Bulldogs will be sophomore Sabrina Mellinghoff, sophomore Ella Mainwaring Foster, sophomore Sydney McCord, sophomore Mira Thakur, sophomore Sydney Kunkler, first year Larissa Giles and first year Dominique Romain. 

For the middle distance crew, the meet will provide the Bulldogs with an opportunity to develop speed that will be useful in the championship portion of the season. Senior Jocelyn Chau has been having an amazing season thus far and heads into this weekend as Yale's top 800m and 1500m runner with her marks from the Raleigh Relays. Senior Samantha Friborg will be right up with her, as she had the fastest 800m time in the Ivy League this past indoor season. First year Iris Bergman has also been notably improving, as she has run impressive times of 58.03 and 2:26.54 in the 400 and 800m this season. Junior Kosana Weir, sophomore Tia Chitty, sophomore Kyra Pretre, sophomore Kelli Hines, sophomore Julia Dvorak, first year Kaity Chandrika and first year Kylie Goldfarb will also run for the Bulldogs.

The distance contingent of the team will use the meet as a chance to work on a variety of skill sets. Leading the group will be senior Kayley DeLay, who is no stranger to victory. DeLay has individually qualified for both the Cross Country and Indoor Track NCAA Division I National Championships, as well as the 2020 U.S Olympic Team Trials Steeplechase event. Needless to say, she will be a force to be reckoned with on the track this weekend. First year Lily Potthast has been showing great improvements this season and recently won the 3k at the UConn Dog Fight Invite. Senior Sarah Pillard, sophomore Sophia Karperos, sophomore Rebecca Schultz and sophomore Kathryn Rodrigues will also be competing this weekend.   

In the field, the throws squad will be led by senior captain Emma Vasen, who recently earned the school record in the hammer throw with a mark of 55.22m. First year Violette Perry will be another athlete to look out for, as she has already thrown 44.68m for the discus this season. Some of the younger Bulldogs will also be trying the javelin for the first time, so it will be exciting to see how their skills translate into a new event. Sophomore Maria Leskovec, sophomore Bella Bergloff, first year Kalei Memmer and first year Makayla Harris will also be throwing for the Bulldogs.

In the long jump, sophomore Sydney Kunkler heads into the weekend with a current season best of 5.35m. She will look to improve upon her performance against the strong competition on Saturday. In the triple jump, sophomore Karen Kirunda currently has jumped 11.12 this season, a mark that is .11m off of her collegiate best. She is so close to achieving a personal record and is ready to give it her best on Saturday. Romain, sophomore Bharathi Subbiah and sophomore Sophie Wright will also jump for the Bulldogs.   

In the pole vault, sophomore Eileen Yang is quickly adjusting to the outdoor environment and has made great strides towards achieving her indoor personal record of 3.85m outdoors. She has already jumped 3.75m at the Raleigh Relays and 3.78m at the UConn Dog Fight. Sophomore Abrianna Barrett is competing well against her peers in the high jump, as she placed 10th at the Raleigh Relays and third at the UConn Dog Fight. Both women will use the weekend as an opportunity to increase their personal bests.

The weather is projected to be 63 degrees this Saturday, and it will be a lovely day for a track meet in New Haven. Spectators are allowed at the event, and all are welcome to come support the Bulldogs at their first outdoor home meet in two years. The competition is bound to be electric, and live results can be found at Leone Timing. 

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Yale Athletics invites you and your family to join our spring Girls in Sports Day celebration on Saturday. Events include women's tennis at 12:00 p.m., track and field at 12:00 p.m. and women's lacrosse at 1:00 p.m.  The women's lacrosse game will include free t-shirts for the kids and $1 hot dogs and ice cream. All events for the day include free admission and free parking.


Schedule:

Track Events:
1:05 p.m.: 4x100m Relay
1:25 p.m.: 3000m Steeplechase
1:40 p.m.: 1500m Run
1:55 p.m.: 110m Hurdles
2:10 p.m.: 400m Dash
2:25 p.m.: 100m Dash
2:40 p.m.: 800m Run
3:00 p.m.: 400m Hurdles
3:15 p.m.: 200m Dash
3:45 p.m.: 5000m Run
4:10 p.m.: 4x400m Relay

Field Events: Start at 12:00 p.m. with Hammer Throw, then Shot Put, and then Discus Throw

Special Events: Pole Vault and then Long Jump