DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Lynn University women's track and field team turned in a competitive performance at the Sunshine State Conference Championships, finishing fifth overall with 23 points. The Fighting Knights were highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 4x100 relay and multiple top-four individual performances, showcasing continued growth and depth across the sprint and hurdles events while competing against a deep conference field led by Tampa (169), Embry-Riddle (103), and Nova Southeastern (79).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
100m
- Tessa Bray led the way for the Fighting Knights, clocking a 12.38 in the prelims to finish third in her heat and narrowly miss qualifying for the final
- Bray's time marks a new season-best, improving on her previous top mark of 12.47, and moves her closer to Lynn's school record of 12.24
- Emma Smith followed with a 12.79, while Zoey Bishop (14.08) and Alaiah Young (14.21) rounded out the Lynn competitors across multiple heats
 
200m
- Bray led the way for the Fighting Knights, advancing through prelims with a 25.39 before placing fourth overall in the final with a time of 25.23 to earn five team points
- Bray's finals performance comes just off her season-best of 25.11, continuing her strong sprint campaign and consistency at the conference level
- Bray remained in contention throughout the race, finishing just .21 seconds off the podium in a tightly packed final
- Tamryn Betts added depth in the prelims with a 25.85, while Emma Smith (26.14) and Alijah Giustino (26.21) also contributed solid efforts across multiple heats
 
400m
- Tamryn Betts led the way for the Fighting Knights, clocking a 58.42 in the prelims to finish third in her heat and narrowly miss advancing to the final
- Betts' time comes just off her season-best of 58.13 as she remained competitive through the opening 300 meters before closing strong
- Alijah Giustino followed with a 58.72, finishing fourth in her heat and just shy of her season-best mark of 59.05
- Angelina Howard added a 59.76, while Zoey Hicks rounded out the Lynn competitors with a 1:06.50
 
800m
- Jessica Lombardo led the way for the Fighting Knights, clocking a 2:16.72 in the prelims to finish fourth in her heat against a competitive middle-distance field
- Lombardo's performance comes just off her season-best of 2:19.70, continuing her steady progression in the event this season
- Annabelle Daley followed with a 2:23.91, while Lindsey Byer added a 2:24.38 as Lynn placed multiple runners across the preliminary heat
- Mia Gagliardi rounded out the Lynn group with a 2:28.89, contributing to the team's depth in the event
 
1500m
- Lombardo led the way for the Fighting Knights, clocking a 4:50.77 in the championship section to finish 11th overall
- Lombardo's time comes just off her season-best of 4:48.14, as she stayed competitive through the opening laps before battling through a slower closing stretch
- Daley delivered a strong performance in section one, winning her heat with a time of 4:52.87 and showcasing a strong closing kick over the final lap
- Lindsey Byer followed with a 4:56.28 to place third in section one, while Mia Gagliardi added a 5:06.51 to round out the Lynn contingent
 
5000m
- Rosemary Selke led the way for the Fighting Knights, completing the 5000m in 22:26.67 to place 15th overall in a distance-heavy championship field
- Selke opened with a controlled first mile, staying within the main pack early before the race began to string out over the middle laps
 
100m Hurdles
- Mira Akan led the way for the Fighting Knights, advancing through prelims with a 15.38 before placing fourth overall in the final with a time of 15.10 to earn five team points
- Akan's finals performance marks a new season-best, improving on her previous top time of 15.30 and continuing her upward trajectory in the hurdles
- Her mark also comes close to Lynn's school record of 14.82 , reinforcing her position among the program's top hurdlers
- In the prelims, Akan secured her spot in the final with a third-place finish in her heat, positioning herself among the top eight competitors
  
400m Hurdles
- Akan led the way for the Fighting Knights, clocking a 1:06.14 in the prelims to finish fourth in her heat and just miss qualifying for the final
- Akan's mark comes just off her season-best of 1:06.46, continuing her consistency in the event while competing against a deep hurdles field
- Abigail Brown followed with a 1:08.83, while Laila Velasquez added a 1:11.00 and Kalei McPherson rounded out the Lynn group with a 1:21.59
 
4x100m Relay
- The Lynn A relay team (Smith, Betts. Bray, Giustino) delivered one of its strongest performances of the season, finishing second overall with a time of 47.37 to earn eight team points
- The quartet's mark comes just off its season-best of 48.13, showing a significant improvement and marking one of the fastest relay efforts of the year for the Fighting Knights
- Lynn was locked in a tight race from start to finish, finishing just .01 seconds behind Embry-Riddle (47.29) and narrowly ahead of Tampa (47.38) in one of the closest races of the meet
 
4x400m Relay
- The Lynn A relay team of Emma Smith, Tessa Bray, Alijah Giustino, and Tamryn Betts delivered a strong performance, finishing fourth overall with a time of 3:54.43 to earn five team points
- The Fighting Knights remained in contention throughout the race, with consistent splits across all four legs keeping them within striking distance of the top three
- Lynn's time marks a season-best, improving on its previous top mark of 3:58.54 and showcasing the group's continued progression
- A strong anchor leg from Betts helped secure the fourth-place finish in a tightly contested race, with just over one second separating Lynn from the winning team
 
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights will head up to Jacksonville, Fla. next weekend on May 1-2 for the East Coast Relays, hosted by the University of North Florida as the final push to the NCAA Championship continues.