April 26, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - The Yale women's track and field team competed on the final day of the Penn Relays in one event. Senior Meredith Leenhouts, freshman Kate Grace, junior Kathryn Schleckser and sophomore Stephany Reaves tested their mettle with the best the country had to offer in the women's Championship of America 4x800-meter relay.

The Bulldogs finished a respectable seventh place in a national-caliber field with a time of 8:53.55. LSU won the race with a time of 8:30.98, defeating Tennessee by more than a second (8:32.60), attributable to a ferocious 2:03.8 leg from LSU's LaTavia Thomas.

For Yale, Leenhouts began with a speedy 2:11.9 leadoff leg, giving the baton to Grace in ninth place (a very tight pack, seven runners passed the baton within a second of one another). Grace, true to form, ran a 2:08.6 second leg and passed to Schleckser, who ran 2:17.8. Anchor leg Reaves ran 2:15.3 to give the Bulldogs their seventh place finish.

While none of the 4x800-relay members will compete, the Bulldogs will race next at the Yale Springtime Invitational on April 27. Running events begin at noon and field events begin at 10 a.m.

report by Ted Galligan '10, Yale Sports Publicity