COLUMBIA, S.C. – The last time the Radford University women's track & field team competed, it was a few weeks ago on a day that saw historic performances and records set. That momentum from the 2023 Big South Indoor Championships carried right over into Weems Baskin Invite this weekend, the opening meet of the squad's outdoor slate. The weekend was highlighted by yet another school record and five podium finishes.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
The opening day was highlighted by the team of Raichelle Cornelius, Julia Burkley, Elyssia Fisher and Kandace McIvor, who set the school record in the 4x300-meter relay with a time 2:44.17. In just their first time ever competing in the event, the group took home second place.

The Highlanders also saw a pair of second-place finishes on Friday come from Austin Swallow and Savannah Hoff. A distance of 40.77 meters in the javelin throw was strong enough for Swallow to take home the silver while Hoff came across the line second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Radford continued to show its strength throughout the day, specifically in the 5,000-meter event. The trio of MegAnne Gilmore, Rachel Millirons and Natalie Preston all earned top-ten finishes in the race. Gilmore rounded out the podium with a personal-best time of 18:03.73. Millirons and Preston fought hard to finish sixth and tenth, respectively.

Breauna Lane earned a podium finish after recording a personal record in the 400-meter dash. The freshman came across the line in 59.04 seconds to place third.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Sophie Magson's efforts in the 1,500-meter event now have her pegged at fifth all-time in the program's record book. She then competed again less than an hour later and registered an outdoor personal record in the 800-meter race.

Dezmajia Carter continued to thrive as a triple jumper, and posted a top-ten historical performance in her first bit of action since the conclusion of the indoor season.

Cornelius pulled double duty this weekend, posting two personal-best times in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash today after her record-breaking outing in the 4x300-meter relay team on Friday. 

Jaslyne Robinson turned heads as hurdler for the entirety of the indoor season and continued to impress this weekend. The freshman posted a 400-meter hurdle time quick enough to crack the top-ten ranks in program history.

Kate McLearen and Mya Rosser also found success at their first outdoor meet at the collegiate level. McLearen scored for the Highlanders en route to tallying a personal record in the 800-meter event while Rosser threw a pair of personal record marks in both the shot put and discus throw.

QUOTABLE
The first meet of the outdoor slate gave head coach Shelli Sayers plenty to be positive about as the Highlanders begin to dive into the heart of their schedule. "On Friday, the change in temperature provided a 40 degree turnaround for us so we had to really adjust. With that being said, the 4x300-meter relay was so fun to run. It is rarely contested and this group was the first to ever do it at Radford."

"I am also really excited to see Austin picking up where she left off last season. It was a great series for her."

Saturday's action left Sayers with some satisfaction that the squad seems to be building off of their indoor success. "This is our first outdoor meet so we were a little flat, but overall we are picking up where we left off from after the indoor season. We are taking a lot of positives out of this meet that will put us in a good place for the Duke Invitational in two weeks," she said.

"Sophie was outstanding today. To run a personal record in the 1,500-meter event and bounce back 45 minutes later and run an 800 personal record is just incredible," she added.

UP NEXT
Radford will have next weekend off before returning to action on the weekend of Friday, April 7 and Saturday, April 8 at the Duke Invitational.

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