Barbacci Wins Pole Vault, Set Juniata's Third Best 400 Meter Time; McRoberts Wins 1000 Meters at F&M

LANCASTER, Pa.- The Juniata women's track and field team competed at the Blue and White Invitational at Franklin & Marshall College on Friday. Olivia Barbacci continued her strong indoor season as she won the high jump and set Juniata's third-best time in the 400 meters. Camille McRoberts also earned an event win in the 1000 meters.

Barbacci leveled her personal record with her 1.62-meter high jump mark to win the event, besting a field of 24 competitors. Ashley Alfree and Josie Kelly also competed in the high jump. Alfree was 14th with a mark of 1.32 meters, while Kelly set a personal record with a mark of 1.27 meters, claiming 18th. She set a 1.22-meter mark at F&M two weeks prior.

Barbacci earned fourth place in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01.69. It also placed her in the program's record book with the third-best time. Her previous best was a 1:03.41 set at last year's Landmark Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, while she is now 0.64 seconds away from second place Stefanie Rynkewitz, who set a 1:01.06 at the 2004 Susquehanna Orange and Maroon Classic. Beck Mensch also raced in the 400 meters, finishing in 34th with a time of 1:31.15. 

McRoberts earned an event win in her first attempt at the 1000 meters, finishing with a time of 3:37.30.

The trio of Barbacci, Alfree, and Kelly also competed in the pole vault. Barbacci cleared 3.13 meters to earn fifth place. Alfree cleared 2.38 meters on her first attempt to finish in 14th place, while Kelly cleared on her second attempt to place one spot behind in 15th. It's a PR for Kelly, who set a previous best mark of 2.29 meters at the Moravian Indoor Meet at Lehigh in January. 

Kelly also logged her first collegiate long jump, finishing in 24th with a mark of 3.85 meters. 

Rebecca Christophel, Alfre, Zoe Biles, and McRoberts reduced the team's best 4X400 meter relay time of the season by 12 seconds as they finished in fourth place with a time of 4:31.32.

McRoberts and Mensch both raced in the 800 meters. McRoberts set a PR with a time of 2:38.58, finishing in 23rd place. Her previous best was a 2:43.37 set at the Moravian Indoor Meet last month. Mensch was 37th with a time of 3:31.26.

Justice Sheaffer competed in both the weight throw and shot put. She was 34th in the shot put with a mark of 6.92 meters, while she threw 6.96 meters in the weight throw to claim 37th. 

The Juniata women's track and field team is back in competition on Saturday, February 17th, at the SU Tuneup from Susquehanna.