FLORENCE, S.C. — CIU women's track & field team turned in a strong showing Friday at the Francis Marion Invitational, competing in a one-day meet as the Rams continue preparation for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships.
Arion Jefferson led CIU on the track with a first-place finish in the 400 meters, clocking a time of 58.99. Jefferson also qualified for the finals in the 100 meters with a time of 12.74 before finishing sixth overall at 13.31.
Michaela Oglesby delivered a standout performance in the hurdles, winning the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.21. Oglesby also added a personal-best mark of 12.63 meters in the triple jump and recorded a long jump of 4.90 meters.
In the middle-distance events, Elizabeth Gustafson finished third in the 800 meters with a personal-best time of 2:25.38. Morgan Hartman followed in fifth at 2:34.52, while Jordan Wray posted a time of 2:38.11.
In the throws, Jerchel Geathers-Washington placed second in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 44.44 meters, while Coral Curry finished third at 42.67 meters. Curry also added a sixth-place finish in the discus at 34.07 meters, with Geathers-Washington following in seventh at 31.94 meters.
In the javelin, Bethany Rymer recorded a second-place finish with a throw of 29.05 meters, while Adelyn Swogger added a mark of 24.54 meters.
Swogger also competed in the jumps, posting a fifth-place finish in the long jump at 4.91 meters and a mark of 2.91 meters in the pole vault. Caroline Rimmer highlighted the event with a third-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 3.21 meters.
In the shot put, Jerchel Geathers-Washington placed fourth with a throw of 10.54 meters, while Coral Curry finished seventh at 10.03 meters.
CIU also found success in the relays, finishing second in the 4x100 relay (Spann, Oglesby, Gustafson, Jefferson) with a time of 53.15 and winning the 4x400 relay (Gustafson, Oglesby, Hartman, Jefferson) in 4:19.53.
The Rams will next compete at the AAC Outdoor Championships, scheduled for April 23–25.
