UTICA, NY – Freshman Ava Wierda and sophomore Kennedy Benjamins had personal best finishes to lead the Roberts Wesleyan University Women's Track and Field team at the Blue and Orange Invitational hosted by Utica University.

Wierda had her best career effort in the shot put with a toss of 10.30 meters (33' 9 ½") as she cleared the 10-meter mark for the first time this season.

Benjamins was one of the six Redhawks that finished among the top nine vaulters in the Invitational section of the pole vault competition. She was second overall to teammate Karis Kraf and vaulted to a new personal best of 3.91 meters (12' 10"). Kraf placed first with the same height but fewer misses.

Junior Melia Couchman was third at 3.76 meters (12' 4") and freshman Natalie Murray placed fifth with a height of 3.61 meters (11' 10"). Sophomores Molly Winger and Sarah Ouelette placed 8th and 9th with each hitting the 3.46-meter (11' 4 ¼") bar.

Murray was also first in the open High Jump event as she cleared 1.55 meters (5' 1").

Sophomore Aaliyah McCoy sprinted to a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash with a finals time of 7.95 seconds while freshman Abigail Bowen was eighth and sophomore Alanna Daniel was ninth in the 200-meters race.