From Carnegie Mellon University Athletics

The Carnegie Mellon University women's track and field team opened the outdoor track and field season at the Washington and Lee University Track and Field Carnival on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19. The team recorded two event victories with four third-place finishes.

The 4x400-meter relay team won on Friday night when freshman Debarti Bhanja (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), junior Arial Tian (Acton, Mass./Acton Boxborough Regional), freshman Rose Ciriello (Madison, N.J./Madison) and sophomore Sarah Cook (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton) crossed the finish line in 4:02.61. Cook also picked up a victory in the 400-meter dash with a winning time of 59.27 while Bhanja was third in 1:00.94.

Senior Taylor Maggiacomo (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) placed third in the 1,500-meter run in a career time of 5:00.46 while senior Liz Snyder (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) was fifth in the 5,000-meter run in a career-best time of 18:08.91 with senior Kira Ragazzo (Frederick, Md./Urbana) placing sixth in 18:41.29.

Ciriello recorded a personal best time in the 400-meter hurdles, running the event in 1:10.93 to place third while the 4x100-meter relay team of junior Jerilyn James (Friendswood, Texas/Clear Brook), Cook, freshman Autumn Hair (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) and Bhanja crossed third in 50.96.

Freshman Tessa Allen (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Bishop Montgomery) placed fifth in the high jump, clearing 1.56 meters, while junior Rebecca Fortner (Navarre, Ohio/Fairless) cleared the same height. Hair also competed in the long jump and placed sixth with a career-best mark of 4.99 meters.