ITHACA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College women's track and field team dusted themselves off following the holiday break as the Cardinals competed in Cornell University's Southern Tier Collegiate Invitational held inside Barton Hall on Saturday afternoon.
 
Most notably, the Cardinals gave a warm welcome to a new face to the roster – Samantha Shea – as the senior Division I transfer didn't skip a beat and broke the Fisher indoor record in the 400-meter run (Jessica Colmerauer, 1:00.27, 2016) with a time of 59.48, good for first place in the event. The storyline didn't end there, though, as freshman Gracie Wright, followed up her new teammate just over a second later at 1:00.63 and in second place, which marked the best time in the event by a freshman in team history. Both Cardinals qualified for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship with their respective performances.
 
Classmate Audrey Carragher took to the track in her first career appearance in the 1,000-meter run where she passed a Division II runner on the race's final turn to finish in second place at 3:42.50.
 
The mile brought about more firsts, as Laura Witt nabbed first place in her first-ever indoor track mile at 5:49.01, leading a flock of Cardinals, including Alivia Collins, Grace Cummings, and Margaret Dolloff who finished 2-4-5.
 
In the day's longest race – the 3,000-meter run – Riley Corey made her season debut by finishing in second place (as the first attached runner) with a time of 10:47.25, while Lauren DeMichele was the next attached finisher with a time of 11:25.19 and finished in fourth place.
 
DeMichele then turned around to lead Collins, Witt, and Dolloff in the 4x400 relay as the "A" squad placed third overall at a time of 4:53.86.
 
Jordan Lehman placed fourth in the weight throw, behind three Division I finishers, with a final mark of 14.05 meters, which she achieved on her second throw.
 
Meanwhile, Alondra Arroyo traveled with her fellow pole vaulters to the University of Akron for the Zips' Eighth Annual Pole Vault Convention held at the Stile Athletics Field House. Arroyo made her presence known, as she placed first in her heat and cleared heights of 2.59 meters, 2.70 meters, and 2.89 meters with ease.
 
Fisher will convene next when both the men's and women's teams compete at Utica College next Saturday, January 15th.