Trio of Top Performances Highlight Season-Opening Smith Invite for Track & Field

Northampton, Mass. -- Wellesley College track & field got the 2015-16 indoor season underway on Saturday afternoon, competing at the Smith College Winter Classic Invitational at Smith's Track & Tennis Center. The Blue came away with three first-place performances on the day in the 3,000m Run, 400m Dash and Long Jump. 

Fresh off her strong showing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, junior Sonja Cwik (La Cañada, Calif.) captured the victory in the 3,000m Run with a time of 10:32.93. Cwik's time powered her to a margin of victory of just over 16 seconds in the distance event. 

Junior Isabella Narvaez (Greenwich, Conn.) took first place in the 400m Dash, clocking in under a minute with a time of 58.4. Narvaez also put down the eleventh fastest time in the 60m Dash, recording a time of 8.21 in the preliminary heats.  

Wellesley's third first-place performance came courtesy of sophomore Abena Asare (Berlin, N.J.). Competing for the first time since finishing ninth in the long jump at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, Asare took first in the event with a leap of 5.47m. Asare also took sixth in the 60m Hurdles with a time of 9.90.  

The day wasn't complete for Asare and Narvaez until they teamed with senior Caitlin Bailey (Old Forge, N.Y.) and first year Jenn Harris (Collierville, Tenn.) to capture a top-five time for the Blue in the 4 x 400m Relay. The Blue team took fourth in the event with a time of 4:16.91. 

The 4 x 400m was one of two top-ten finishes for Bailey, who also took sixth in the 600m Run with a time of 1:45.16. Harris was 15th in the 600m, in 1:52.18. 

Senior Priyanka Fouda (Wellesley, Mass.) led a trio of Blue runners to top-ten times in the 5,000m Run. Fouda took third with a time of 18:04.26. She was followed by classmate Alessandra Gavin (Annapolis, Md.) in seventh (18:42.34) and junior Edie Sharon (Winchester, Mass.) in eighth (18:46.98).  

Sophomore Priscilla Lee (Anaheim, Calif.) also had a busy day for the Blue, earning two top-ten finishes in three events. Lee's top performance came in the High Jump, where the sophomore took fourth with a leap of 1.57m. She followed with a tenth place finish in the long jump, thanks to her 4.79m jump. Lee also recorded a time of 29.34 in the 200m Dash. 

Wellesley track & field will resume the season on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at the Reggie Poyau Memorial, hosted by Brandeis University. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 AM.