The Furman University distance medley relay team set a new program record on April 24 at the Penn Relays held at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The team, made up of freshman Annie Miller, sophomore Claire Cook, sophomore Nysa Males, and senior Camryn Wennersten, finished eighth with a time of 11:10.50.
This performance broke the previous school record of 12:15.82 that had stood since April 2000. The Penn Relays is recognized as one of the most historic track and field events globally and drew more than 100,000 spectators who watched over 17,000 athletes compete across various categories including youth, high school, Special Olympics, collegiate, masters, and Olympic Development.
In individual events for Furman athletes at the meet, Wennersten placed seventeenth in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 4:17.49. Miller was thirty-first in the same event with a time of 4:21.24 while Males finished thirty-seventh in 4:23.30.
Jais Ward achieved a personal best in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:25.06 and moved up to thirty-eighth on the NCAA East region qualifying list for that event. In addition to her relay contribution and performance in other races by teammates, freshman Tessa Walter competed in the women’s 5,000 meters where she placed thirty-eighth with a personal best time of 16:36.95.
The achievements by Furman’s athletes reflect continued progress for their track and field program during one of collegiate athletics’ premier meets.
