YORK, Pa. – Records fall at the 2023 MAC Championships as the Widener women's track and field team complete the triple crown.
 
The Pride came home with four Widener school records and three "Of the Year" award winners.
 
Rookie of the Year: Kelly Barr
Coach of the Year: Logan Stroman
Assistant Coach of the Year: Mike Ambrulavage
 
HOW IT HAPPENED AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
 
DAY 1 – THURSDAY
 
Starting off for the Pride in the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles was Sydni Bell. Bell clocked a 15.69 and place first.
 
Later on Bell continued in the heptathlon 200-meter dash where she placed third with a 28.36. After four events Bell ranked second with 2363 points.
 
On the track, Katelyn Bernotas, Meredith Schroeder, Jaden Sweely, and Donna Holt grabbed a silver medal in the 4x800 meter relay. The team clocked a 9:23.74.
 
Gabby Nye's cross country expertise carried over to the 10,000-meter run where she grabbed a bronze after running a 38:52.22 which set a new personal best. Nye earned six team points. Chris Tran and Kathryn Long rounded out the scoring field with a seventh and eighth place finish. Tran finished in 40:07.55 while Long ran a 40:09.81. The three would finish the event with nine team points.
 
Bell's heptathlon high jump marked a 1.47-meter jump to place fifth. In the shot put, she threw a 8.30-meter throw to place sixth.
 
The hammer throw featured Isabel Rodriguez as she grabbed bronze after her 45.45-meter throw.
 
DAY 2 – FRIDAY
 
Opening day two was Emily Cooney in the 3000-meter steeplechase as she grabbed a gold. Cooney won by nearly 15 seconds with her 11:24.16. Liz Egan slid into second with an 11:40.56. The two took first and second by seven seconds.
 
The 4x100 meter relay team of Maria Muzzarelli, Jayla Gore, Olivia Giannella, and Kelly Barr displayed a top time heading into Saturday's finals. The four clocked a 48.12
 
In the 100-meter hurdles, Bell would qualify for finals after she ran a 15.64-second race. Heading into finals, she would be ranked fourth.
 
Barr's first individual event of the meet would feature a first round qualifying rank as she ran a 59.532 in a tie-breaker with Stevenson's Jasmine Wilson.
 
The duo of Gore and Muzzarelli took to the 100-meter dash as the two would earn a 2-3 qualification for Saturday's finals. Gore would run a 12.33 while Muzzarelli followed 0.02 behind with a 12.35.
 
The distance group in the 800-meter which featured Bernotas, Holt, and Sweely found spots in the finals. Bernotas ran a 2:18.27 to head into finals qualifying first. Holt's 2:19.63 qualified her third just ahead of Misericordia's Kristin Gallagher. Sweely snuck into seventh with a 2:21.53.
 
Elise Daniel took the 400-meter hurdles with strides to qualify third after her 1:06.14 preliminary race.
 
Muzzarelli and Barr battled again in the 200-meter dash. Muzzarelli came out on top with a 25.17 to qualify second while Barr ran a 25.60 to qualify just behind. Gore took sixth to qualify with a 25.90.
 
Bell continued in the heptathlon 800-meter run with a 3:04.37 to place seventh. In the long jump, Bell placed second with a 4.93-meter jump. The javelin throw would mark a 19.63-meter throw and a fifth place. After seven events, Bell ranked third with 3511 points.
 
Tia Furbush snuck into team scoring with an eighth-place finish as she marked a 5.08-meter jump.
 
DAY 3 – SATURDAY
 
After a preliminary round in the 4x100, the four were back at it. Muzzarelli, Gore, Giannella, and Barr held strong to display a record-breaking relay to better their Widener Invite time. The four walked away with a gold, Widener school record, and 10 team points with a 47.95.
 
In the timed final mile, Gabby Nye placed sixth as she ran a 4:46.35 to earn three team points.
 
Bell took the finals in the 100-meter hurdles and placed fourth just missing the medal list as she ran a 15.41 to rank her third in Widener's all-time top 10 list.
 
Barr continued to hold her first place in the 400-meter dash. She would run a 57.29 to rank second in Widener history behind Brittany Diehl's 57.01 from 2014. Barr walked away with some gold hardware.
 
In the 100-meter dash finals, Gore and Muzzarelli finished 2-3 as Gore led with a 11.98. Muzzarelli finished in a 12.09 to place third and grab a bronze.
 
Holt would overtake Bernotas in the finals of the 800-meter run. Holt grabbed gold with a 2:16.08 while Bernotas took silver with a 2:16.49. Sweely grabbed a point with her 2:23.16 to end the event with 19 team points.
 
Daniel moved up one place to finish with a silver in the 400-meter hurdles. Her 1:03.38 would set a new Widener school record breaking Allison Gallagher's 1:03.69 from 2018.
 
Muzzarelli snagged silver in the 200-meter dash as she clocked a 25.31 to set a new personal best and rank second in Widener history. Barr finished sixth in a 26.21 while Gore finished with a 26.47. Barr currently ranks third in school history and Gore moved to ninth.
 
In another timed final event, Gabby Nye took third and a silver medal in the 5000-meter run. The distance specialist clocked an 18.04.26.
 
In the final event on the track, the team of Tara Ford, Daniel, Holt, and Barr would set another Widener school record in the 4x400 meter relay. The four would do so in gold medal fashion as they won by four seconds with a 3:58.80.
 
Savannah Steger took to the pole vault as she placed seventh with a jump of 3.30-meters. Steger climbed the top 10 rankings after her jump as she currently ranks fourth just behind Amber Charr's 3.42-meter jump from 2015.
 
The Blue and Gold earned 148 team points to outscore Misericordia nine. Stevens grabbed third with 123 team points.
 
UP NEXT
Widener will return to the track for a last chance qualifier meet held on Hansel Track on May 15^th. Time is yet to be determined.