Firth, Pillone Lead Tufts Women's Track and Field at Cupid Challenge

MEDFORD, MA (February 3, 2024) -- Junior Sarah Firth and senior Sarah Pillone each posted Top 15 marks in NCAA Division III this season on Saturday, highlighting a strong day of competition for the Tufts University women's track and field squad at the 2024 Tufts Cupid Challenge inside the Gancher Family Sports and Convocation Center. 

There was no team score kept on Saturday, but the Jumbos had a bevy of strong performances throughout the day. Firth posted her best mark of the 2024 season in the pole vault, as she cleared 3.80 meters for the eighth-best mark in Division III this season. The finish on Saturday was good for second place overall. Teammate Emma Gall also tallied a collegiate-best height in the pole vault, posting a successful height of 3.55 meters for fifth place along with the nation's 27th best mark of the campaign.  

Pillone tallied her season-best time in the 60 meter hurdles, racing to a time of 8.93 in the finals to take second. The time currently has Pillone No. 14 in the NCAA Top 50 after Saturday's action. Tufts had another NCAA Top 50 performance in the 4x400 meter relay, as the team of Annika Kral, Anne-Sophie Janssen, Antonia Knoth and Emma Smith was second after running a time of 4:03.61. The group is currently 31st nationally after that performance. 

The lone victory for Tufts came in the 600 meters, as Smith was the winner after posting a season-best time of 1:39.05 for the win. Knoth was right behind her in second place with a time of 1:39.40, and Emily Sverak raced to a 1:40.65 placing her fourth overall. Amelia Neiman also chalked up a personal-best time in the 600 meters of 1:41.22 for fifth place. 

First-year Eugenie Horisberger ran a new collegiate-best in the 800 meters, placing third with a 2:24.77. Classmate Taylor Neldner was right behind her in fourth place with a 2:25.57, and then led the Jumbos in the mile with a collegiate-best, New England Championships qualifying time of 5:17.94. First-year Katya Henisz was also right behind Neldner in sixth place with a 5:21.17. 

In the 3000 meters, Elizabeth Donahue ran a runner-up time of 10:18.25 for a new personal-best. Sophomore Grace Ogden also ran a new personal-best time of 10:23.99, also good for a New England Championships qualifying mark. 

Harper Meek was Tufts' leader in the high jump after clearing 1.57 meters, taking sixth place Saturday, and junior Jordan Andrew took third place with a mark of 5.26 meters. Pillone was fourth in the long jump as well, as her 5.18 meter leap was a personal-best effort. 

First-year Ceci LaBarge finished sixth in the weight throw for a new personal-best of 13.29 meters, and Nicole Kuhl tallied a new PR in the weight throw of 12.29 meters for 11th place. 

Tufts will now regroup and get back to action this upcoming weekend, competing in a pair of events on Saturday, February 10 at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational and the MIT Invitational.