WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College track & field team took ninth place of 18 teams at the Bill Butler Invitational, collecting 24 team points.

The Falcons had four finish the 200-meter dash. Sophomore Mel Val (Tracy City, Tenn./St. Andrew's Sewanee) led the way, crossing the line in 27.89 seconds. First-year Laila Stevenson (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville War Memorial) followed with a time of 28.30 seconds. Junior Krishana Brooks (Long Branch, N.J./Long Branch) recorded a time of 29.61 seconds while sophomore Emily Matoushek (Waymart, Pa./Forest City Regional) clocked a personal-best time of 31.32 seconds.

Matoushek was back on the track for the 400-meter dash and recorded a time of 1:16.54.

In the 400-meter hurdles, first-year Keyara Harriston (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) crossed the finish line in 1:18.28.

Seniors Shayla Simek (Lehighton, Pa./Lehighton Area) and Lauren Davis (Oley, Pa./Oley Valley) represented Cedar Crest in the 1500-meter run, turning in respective times of 6:44.63 and 7:05.18.

In the 10,000-meter event, sophomore Kasia Dos Santos (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) finished second in a time of 51:34.48.

In the field events, the Falcons had four in the discus throw. Senior Bella Bozen (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Township) recorded a seventh-place finish with a throw of 35.65 meters. Senior Alana Connor (Manassas, Va./Charles J. Colgan) registered a mark of 27.24 meters.
Sophomore Symarah Drey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) turned in a throw of 25.52 meters and junior Courtney Gibbons (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) tossed 21.60 meters.

Connor led Cedar Crest in the hammer throw with a new program record of 38.95 meters, which placed her fifth. Bozen threw for a mark of 30.68 meters and Gibbons recorded a throw of 27.65 meters.

Bozen paced the Falcons in the javelin, taking fourth with a throw of 31.91 meters. Drey followed in eighth (26.23 meters).

First-year Kaitlyn Cohen (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-Dewitt) recorded a new personal best in the pole vault (2.31 meters).

Connor was the lone Cedar Crest participant in the shot put, collecting a mark of 9.59 meters.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Stevenson, Harriston, Brooks, and Val clocked a time of 4:36.85 to finish fifth.

Cedar Crest will next compete at the Coach P Invitational, hosted by Moravian University on Friday, April 17 and Saturday, April 18.