Temple University Athletics
Friday, February 14
Boston, Mass.
12:00 PM
Temple University
vs
Valentine Invitational
Three Records Fall at Track and Field Regular Season Finale
2.14.20 | Women's Track and Field
BOSTON – The Temple track and field team rounded out its regular season slate in good fashion at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday. The meet was hosted by Boston University and was highlighted by three new program records for the Owls by Alanna Lally (800m), Millie Howard (mile) and Michelle Joyce (5000m).
Meet Highlights
> Sydney Williams got the action started for the Owls in the invitational section of the 60m hurdle prelims. Racing against the top-27 fastest entries at the Valentine Invitational, the junior finished 18th overall with a time of 9.09.
> The mid-distance duo of Lally and Helene Gottlieb was phenomenal in the 800m. Lally ran the fastest time in Temple history, clocking in at 2:06.35 to finish 12th in the 259-person field. She shattered the 10-year-old program record by seven tenths of a second, besting Victoria Gocht's time of 2:07.05 that was set in 2010. Gottlieb also had an outstanding performance, running her fastest-ever half mile on an indoor track of 2:07.98 to finish 22nd overall.
> Four Owls competed in the 60m dash prelims across two different sections. In the invitational prelims, Chelby Elam picked up a 20th-place finish with a time of 7.96, and Williams clocked in at 8.18 to finish 27th overall. In the all-around 60m dash, Brielle Lewis took 13th with a time of 8.04 and Candus Burks finished with a time of 8.45.
> Marissa White had a spectacular showing in the 400m. The sophomore broke the 55 second mark for the first time in her career on the 200m indoor track, clocking in at 54.93 to finish 12th in the 213-person field.
> White returned to earn the top spot for the Owls in the 200m, finishing 28th in the 295-person field with a time of 24.95. Mallorie Smith raced well in the 200m as well, clocking in at 25.19 to earn a spot in the event's top-50. Lewis (26.03), Elam (26.58), Aisha Brown (26.59) and Burks (26.77) each represented Temple in the 200m as well.
> Howard had one of the best performances of her career to earn ninth in the mile on Friday evening. The senior shaved nearly 10 seconds off of her best time on an indoor track, shattering the school record by just over four seconds with a time of 4:36.37. The previous record was held by Temple track and field great Blanca Fernandez, who posted a time of 4:40.60 back in 2015 to hold the top spot for the Owls. Mikaela Vlasic also competed in the 1600m, finishing well with a time of 4:54.62.
> Joyce concluded the day with a fantastic showing in the 5000m. In a race that did not being until after 10 p.m., the junior dropped 26 seconds from her personal best time and broke the program record in the process. Joyce's time of 16:49 beat the previous record of 17:06 by 17 seconds, set by Katie Leisher during the 2017-18 indoor season.
From the Coach
> "We had a slew of great performances that put us in a good place heading into the conference meet in two weeks," said head coach Elvis Forde. "A handful of student-athletes really stepped it up today which was great for the team. Millie broke Blanca's five-year record in the mile, which says a lot considering the impact Blanca had on our program. Alanna reset her personal best in the 800m and broke a 10-year-old record along the way. Marissa continues to get better each week, and was under the 55 second mark in the 400m for the first time indoors. In the final event, Michelle ran a gutsy late-night 5000m and broke the school record. Overall, it was a good day that gave us a lot of information regarding where we will need to be in two weeks. Now, we look forward to continuing to prepare for conferences."
Up Next
> As the regular season comes to a close, the squad will now turn its focus to the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in two weeks. The two-day conference meet will begin on Friday, Feb. 28 and run through Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Meet Highlights
> Sydney Williams got the action started for the Owls in the invitational section of the 60m hurdle prelims. Racing against the top-27 fastest entries at the Valentine Invitational, the junior finished 18th overall with a time of 9.09.
> The mid-distance duo of Lally and Helene Gottlieb was phenomenal in the 800m. Lally ran the fastest time in Temple history, clocking in at 2:06.35 to finish 12th in the 259-person field. She shattered the 10-year-old program record by seven tenths of a second, besting Victoria Gocht's time of 2:07.05 that was set in 2010. Gottlieb also had an outstanding performance, running her fastest-ever half mile on an indoor track of 2:07.98 to finish 22nd overall.
> Four Owls competed in the 60m dash prelims across two different sections. In the invitational prelims, Chelby Elam picked up a 20th-place finish with a time of 7.96, and Williams clocked in at 8.18 to finish 27th overall. In the all-around 60m dash, Brielle Lewis took 13th with a time of 8.04 and Candus Burks finished with a time of 8.45.
> Marissa White had a spectacular showing in the 400m. The sophomore broke the 55 second mark for the first time in her career on the 200m indoor track, clocking in at 54.93 to finish 12th in the 213-person field.
> White returned to earn the top spot for the Owls in the 200m, finishing 28th in the 295-person field with a time of 24.95. Mallorie Smith raced well in the 200m as well, clocking in at 25.19 to earn a spot in the event's top-50. Lewis (26.03), Elam (26.58), Aisha Brown (26.59) and Burks (26.77) each represented Temple in the 200m as well.
> Howard had one of the best performances of her career to earn ninth in the mile on Friday evening. The senior shaved nearly 10 seconds off of her best time on an indoor track, shattering the school record by just over four seconds with a time of 4:36.37. The previous record was held by Temple track and field great Blanca Fernandez, who posted a time of 4:40.60 back in 2015 to hold the top spot for the Owls. Mikaela Vlasic also competed in the 1600m, finishing well with a time of 4:54.62.
> Joyce concluded the day with a fantastic showing in the 5000m. In a race that did not being until after 10 p.m., the junior dropped 26 seconds from her personal best time and broke the program record in the process. Joyce's time of 16:49 beat the previous record of 17:06 by 17 seconds, set by Katie Leisher during the 2017-18 indoor season.
From the Coach
> "We had a slew of great performances that put us in a good place heading into the conference meet in two weeks," said head coach Elvis Forde. "A handful of student-athletes really stepped it up today which was great for the team. Millie broke Blanca's five-year record in the mile, which says a lot considering the impact Blanca had on our program. Alanna reset her personal best in the 800m and broke a 10-year-old record along the way. Marissa continues to get better each week, and was under the 55 second mark in the 400m for the first time indoors. In the final event, Michelle ran a gutsy late-night 5000m and broke the school record. Overall, it was a good day that gave us a lot of information regarding where we will need to be in two weeks. Now, we look forward to continuing to prepare for conferences."
Up Next
> As the regular season comes to a close, the squad will now turn its focus to the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in two weeks. The two-day conference meet will begin on Friday, Feb. 28 and run through Saturday, Feb. 29 at the Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Players Mentioned
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
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