GRANTHAM, PA/LEWISBURG, PA (April 11, 2026) – The King's College women's outdoor track & field team delivered a standout afternoon at the Messiah Invitational, highlighted by two school records in the 4x100‑meter relay and 4x400‑meter relay.

Senior Brandy Varner also turned in a strong performance at the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University, competing at Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium against a deep field featuring Division I, II, and III programs.

Bison Outdoor Classic
Brandy Varner kicked off the day by placing 12th overall in the shot put in a field of 36 competitors with a throw of 13.25 meters. Varner additionally finished with the best result from a division III institution. Sasha Garnett from Penn State won the event at 15.96 meters.

Varner continued her strong performance by finishing sixth overall out of 26 athletes in the discus throw with a toss of 45.12 meters. Isabella Cowger from Elizabethtown topped the event with a staggering 49.05 meters.

Messiah Invitational
In the track events, Mara Ryan started off the day by earning 21st in the 5,000-meter run at 22:45.56.

In the 4x100 meter relay, the squad of Ava Butcher, Erin McLean, Kat Smith, and Ali Butcher finished second overall with a school record time of 49.85. The group surpasses the record initially held by Sarah Ross, Savannah Lynch, Emily Harrington, Ellen Kuzma in 2018 by .8 seconds.

In the 100-meter dash, McLean stopped the clock at 13.40 to receive 38th while teammate Timara Klotz took 44th at 13.76. Cecilia Chipriano earned 25th overall in the 1500-meter run with a time of 5:27.17, and McLean crossed the line in 27.64 as she placed 26th overall in the 200-meter dash.

Sarah Hartzell and Samantha Adams finished 23rd and 24th respectively in the 400-meter dash, as Hartzell ran a time of 1:07.70 and Adams clocked in a time of 1:07.78.  Evelyn Sahd posted a time of 2:28.03 in the 800-meter run to earn 15th place.

The group of Ali Butcher, Sahd, Ava Butcher, and Smith ended the day by placing first overall as a team in the 4x400 meter relay with another school record time of 4:00.11. The team breaks the school record time by two seconds, as it was previously held by Sarah Ross, Kailey Orzechowski, Emily Harrington, and Tara Johnson's in 2019 with a time of 4:02.58.

In the field events, Avery Kosloski and Abby Thompson tied for seventh in the high jump at 1.41 meters. Soyer Delucy finished 20th overall in the long jump with a leap of 4.81 meters.

Caitlin Kirk set a personal best mark in the hammer throw, as she finished second overall in the field of 58 competitors with a toss of 50.79 meters. Her performance was .8 meters better than her original. Nayeli Moliere posted a throw of 30.77 meters to receive 28th.

In the javelin throw, Katey Shoemaker placed sixth with a toss of 32.55 meters, Ariela Towsey earned 11th at 28.44 meters, Hartzell posted a throw of 24.46 meters, and Moliere took 40th at 18.43 meters.

Kirk and Moliere continued their standout day by placing fifth and seventh respectively in the shot put. Kirk posted a throw of 11.16 meters, while Kirk marked a toss of 10.98 meters. Aerie Sanders placed 36th at 8.86 meters.

The King's women's outdoor track and field team finished eighth overall out of 25 teams with 45 points. Mount Saint Mary's won the invitational with 97 points.

The Monarchs return to action tomorrow, April 12, at 10:30 a.m. for day two of the Bison Outdoor Classic. In the field, Shoemaker and Kirk will compete in the hammer throw at 11:00 a.m., while on the track, Ava Butcher and Kat Smith will race in the 400‑meter dash at 12:40 p.m., followed by Ali Butcher in the 100‑meter dash at 1:50 p.m.