Givans Takes 55 Hurdles to Lead Women's Track at McElligott Invitational

HAVERFORD, Pa. - Junior Kenyetta Givans took first place in the 55-meter hurdles and third in the 400 meter dash to lead the Swarthmore College women's indoor track & field team at the  McElligott Invitational from Haverford College on Saturday afternoon.

Givans finished the 55-m hurdles in a season-best time of 8.67, just getting past Ursinus's Victoria Goodenough (8.66) for first place. In the 400 meter dash, she crossed the line third with a time of 1:02.22, meeting Centennial Conference qualifications.

Not far behind Givans in both the 55 meter hurdles and 400 was freshman Chelsea Hicks. Hicks took eighth in the hurdles with a time of 9.18 and 22nd in the 400 (1:09.03). However, Hicks' best performance of the day came in the women's triple jump, where she took third with a jump of 34-10.50. She reached Centennial Conference qualifications in all three events.

The Garnet women dominated the 1 mile run, placing four runners in the top 13. Sophomore Rebecca Hammond led the way with a fourth-place finish, crossing the line in a time of 5:22.35, a run that ranks 10th all-time on the all-time Swarthmore performance list and  qualifies her for Centennials.She was followed by freshman Emma Saarel (5:31.65), junior Stephanie Beebe (5:31.98) and junior Kathryn Gonzalez (5:35.8), all of whom also qualified for Centennials.

Freshman Vija Lietuvninkas found herself on the Swarthmore All-Time List Performance list, clearing 4-8.25, placing her 10th all-time and qualifying for Centennials.

Junior Ogechi Irondi put up impressive performances in the 200 meter dash and the shot put. She ran the 200 in a time of 28.56, good for 17th meeting Centennial Conference qualifications. In the shot put, Irondi placed 11th with a season-best toss of 33-04.50. Also in the shot put, Sarah Diamond threw a person best 27-5.50 and qualified for Centennials.

In the women's 3000 run, sophomore Rebecca Painter finished 10th ( 11:02.59 ) while junior Hannah Rose took 18th  (11:22.32 ).

Swarthmore returns to Haverford for the Keough Invitational on Saturday.