by Benny Benton
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Sophomores Meghan Araldi and Janae Cunningham both set Barton College school records this weekend at the VertKlasse Meeting, and freshman Jasmine Watson added a top-five performance in the hurdles during the event at High Point University.
Araldi, a resident of Albany, N.Y., recorded a time of 12:23.86 in the 3000-meter steeplechase while finishing fifth in a field of nine competitors. In doing so, she clipped more than 30 seconds off her own school record of 12:55.02, which she set during the season-opening meet in Charlotte, N.C. Since last year's league championships, Araldi has improved her time in the steeplechase by more than a minute and 20 seconds.
Cunningham also broke her own school record, this one in the javelin. The Hubert, N.C., resident produced a toss of 30.97 meters, or 101 feet, 7 inches, while placing sixth in a field of 18. The mark topped her previous BC standard of 30.48 meters, which was recorded at the 2017 Phoenix Invitational.
Watson, a resident of Suffolk, Va., joined Araldi as a top-five finisher in the VertKlasse Meeting, earning fourth place in a field of 20 in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.62 seconds. Watson was the only non-NCAA Division I runner in the top eight.
Although Watson's mark in the hurdles was a season-best, it was wind-aided and will not count as an official personal record. Barton did see PRs for Andrea Mills and Taylor Everly in the 200-meter dash (27.18 and 29.61 seconds, respectively). Running in the same event, Mikaela Thomas established a benchmark PR (31.39 seconds) by competing at that distance for the first time.
Mills also recorded her best outdoor collegiate time in the 400, 1:04.26.
Another PR was claimed by Trinity Wells in the javelin, a toss of 28.15 meters that earned the freshman an eighth-place finish in the field of 18. It was Wells' first career top-10 result in any event and the only other top-10 of the meet for the Lady Bulldogs.
Barton will visit Elon University next Saturday to compete in the Phoenix Invitiational.
