The Waynesburg women’s outdoor track and field teams traveled up north to Slippery Rock, PA on Saturday to compete in the Dave Labor Invitational hosted by Slippery Rock University.  

Sophomore Grace Tanksley and senior Gabi Reifsnyder finished in fifth and sixth place in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Tanksley finished with a 42:18.27 and Reifsnyder finished with a 42:18.47 time.  

Grace Tanksley says that she is thankful and appreciative to run alongside Gabi Reifsnyder.  

“I was dealing with some pain during the 10k on Saturday. I honestly do not think I would have been able to hold my pace without Gabi,” said Tanksley. “I am very thankful that she did that for me. She’s a great teammate and captain and we are all going to miss her when she graduates.” 

Sophomore Raegan Pettis finished 11th in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 13:00.77 saying how tough it was to race with the amount of girls on the track.  

“I’ve competed in much bigger races, so I was fine with the field however, because there were more girls on the track there were more wipeouts,” said Pettis. “There was a girl who wiped out in front of me at the water pit and I got scared. I didn’t pay attention to how I was hurdling, and I landed hard on my feet.” 

Freshman Ella Rishell and sophomore Ella Booth finished in 19th and 20th place in the 400-meter dash, and freshmen Peyton Kuhns had a women’s javelin throw of 30.98 meters, putting her in 16th place in the competition.  

Tanksley says that she is excited looking ahead at their next meet.  

“My family is planning to make it up to Westminster, so I really want to run pain free and run a good race for them. I believe I am going to run the 5k, so I want to try and PR (personal record),” said Tanksley. “After that I want to focus on getting ready for the 10k at PACs.”  

The women’s track and field team will travel to New Wilmington, PA this Saturday to Westminster College to compete in the Westminster Invitational.