DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Lynn University women's track and field team turned in a strong showing highlighted by multiple personal records and a victory in the 1500 meters as the Fighting Knights finished sixth out of 17 teams at the Eagle Invite meet on Saturday afternoon. Jessica Lombardo led the charge with a first-place finish in the 1500 meters, while Lynn added several top-10 performances and capped the day with a win in the 4x400-meter relay.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
100 Meters
- Tessa Bray led the Fighting Knights in the 100 meters, finishing 20th overall with a time of 12.77 while competing in the fastest section of the event
- Alaiah Young crossed the line in 14.05 for a new personal record, placing 37th overall for Lynn
- Zoey Bishop rounded out the Fighting Knight competitors with a 38th-place finish in 14.13
 
200 Meters
- Alijah Giustino turned in the top performance for Lynn in the 200 meters, finishing sixth overall with a personal-best time of 25.77 while competing in the second heat
- Bray followed with a 13th-place finish, clocking 26.24 in the opening heat of the event
- Angelina Howard added a 16th-place showing for the Fighting Knights, crossing the line in 26.75
- Young posted a time of 29.70 to finish 26th overall
- Bishop rounded out Lynn's competitors with a 27th-place finish in 30.13
 
400 Meters
- Giustino paced the Fighting Knights in the 400 meters, finishing seventh overall with a personal-record setting time of 59.05 while competing in the second heat
- Mira Akan followed with a strong performance, placing ninth overall in 1:00.00 in the opening heat
- Howard added another top-15 result for Lynn, crossing the line 12th overall with a time of 1:00.39 (personal-best)
- Rosemary Selke rounded out the Fighting Knight competitors with a 21st-place finish in 1:06.82
 
800 Meters
- Jessica Lombardo led the Fighting Knights in the 800 meters, finishing fifth overall with a personal-best time of 2:19.70 while competing in the top section of the event
- Annabelle Daley added a strong showing, placing eighth overall in 2:25.62 (PR) and winning her heat
- Selke recorded a 13th-place finish, crossing the line in 2:31.10 for a new PR
- Mia Gagliardi followed closely with a 14th-place result, posting a time of 2:31.64
 
1500 Meters
- Lombardo delivered a standout performance for the Fighting Knights in the 1500 meters, winning the event with a time of 4:48.14 (personal record) to capture first place overall
- Daley also turned in a strong showing, finishing seventh overall in 4:58.13 (personal best) while competing in the top section of the race
- Gagliardi added a 13th-place finish, crossing the line in 5:12.88
- Elizabeth O'Brien rounded out the Lynn competitors with a 28th-place result, posting a time of 6:07.50
 
100m Hurdles
- Abigail Brown led the Fighting Knights, finishing 14th overall with a new personal record of 16.84 while competing in the third heat of the event
- Kalei McPherson followed with an 18th-place finish, clocking 17.75 in the second heat
- Laila Velasquez rounded out the Lynn entries with a 19th-place result, posting a personal-record setting time of 19.78 in the third heat
 
400m Hurdles
- Brown paced the Fighting Knights with a sixth-place overall finish, clocking a personal best 1:09.08 while winning the second section and earning three team points
- Velasquez followed with an 11th-place result, posting a time of 1:12.07 in the second section
- McPherson rounded out the Lynn competitors with a 12th-place finish, recording a time of 1:24.98
 
4x400m Relay
- The Lynn "A" team of Giustino, Bray, Lombardo and Brown delivered the top performance of the race, crossing the line first overall in 4:03.47 to claim the event victory and 10 team points
- The Fighting Knights held off a late push from Albany State, which finished second in 4:04.96, to secure the victory
- Lynn also saw its "B" squad of Laila Velasquez, Rosemary Selke, Noemia Gagliardi and Annabelle Daley place sixth overall with a time of 4:23.63, adding three points to the team total
 
UP NEXT:
The Lynn track teams return to action next weekend, heading to Lakeland for the Fire Invite hosted by Southeastern University on Friday and Saturday (Mar. 13-14).