WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College track & field team began its 2023 season on Saturday at the Monarch Invitational hosted by King's College (Pa.) at Betzler Outdoor Track.

"Every one of our athletes showed true toughness today and I'm excited to see each and every single one of them improve," said Head Coach Jaryd Flank. "We still have got work to put in, but I am proud of our first performances of the year and have no doubts that our best is still to come."

On the track side, event six was the 1500-meter run and sophomores Jonquil Loeffelholz (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome) and Jess Simins (Phillipsburg, N.J./Warren Tech) finished 13^th and 14^th, respectively, with times of 6:15.66 and 6:25.83. Junior Olivia Kelly (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) was the final participant in the event for the Falcons and clocked a time of 7:11.12.

In the next event, first-year Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) took ninth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.70. The Falcons also registered the finishers in the 11 through 14 slots.
The 400-meter dash event featured two Falcons and saw first-year Gaudy Reinoso (Jersey City, N.J./Lincoln) take fifth (1:20.17) and senior Carolina Beverage (Taylor, Pa./Riverside Senior) follow in sixth (1:37.40).

In the 200-meter dash, Everett registered a 12^th-place finish in a time of 30.55, followed by classmate Olivia Wanner (Lyons, Pa./Kutztown Area) (31.15).

On the field side, senior Kelsee Schouppe (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) recorded a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw event with a distance of 34.93 meters. Sophomore Heaven Bethea (Boynton Beach, Fla./South Tech Academy) also competed and had threw 13.82 meters for ninth place.

In the javelin event, first-year Sadie Trubilla (Coaldale, Pa./Panther Valley) registered a distance of 29.95 meters for a sixth-place finish while classmate Camryn Snyder (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) took 12^th (16.10 meters).

Four Falcons took part in the shot put event. Schouppe finished fourth with a throw of 9.91 meters. First-year Bella Bozen (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) took 10^th (7.50 meters), Trubilla was 11^th (7.15 meters), while Bethea was 14^th (4.97 meters).

Cedar Crest had two top-ten finishers in the discus throw event. Schouppe recorded a fourth-place finish with a throw of 30.75 meters. Bozen took ninth with a throw of 25.29 meters.

Cedar Crest will next compete at the Jim Taylor Invitational hosted by Susquehanna University on Saturday, March 25 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

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