WACO, Texas — St. Edward's continued its upward trajectory against a deep Division I-heavy field at the Clyde Hart Classic, stacking personal bests and distance-event impact at Baylor University.
Competing in a meet loaded with Power Five programs and elite unattached entries, the Hilltoppers held their own—particularly in distance events—while continuing to chip away at times across the board.
The weekend's strongest showing came in the 5,000 meters, where St. Edward's placed three runners inside the top 11 in a tightly contested field.
JENNA SAUNDERS led the charge with a sixth-place finish in a personal-best 18:31.89, sitting just seconds off the top five in a race dominated by Division I programs.
SAMMY SALAZAR followed in ninth with a personal-best 18:48.86, while
ADRIANA RODRIGUEZ added an 11th-place finish at 19:04.38 to round out one of the meet's deepest team performances.
That distance strength carried into the 1500, where
DELANEY LONG delivered a 4:47.16 to place 19th in a field that featured multiple sub-4:30 finishers. Long doubled back later in the 800 and nearly broke into the top 10, placing 11th with a personal-best 2:16.65, continuing her steady progression as a leader of the middle-distance group.
On the track, St. Edward's showed growing depth in the sprints and hurdles.
EMORY LIMUEL (59.11) and
SARAH-CATHERINE CHAPMAN (59.94) both broke the one-minute barrier in the 400, with Chapman's mark standing as a personal best.
KARLY WEYAND added a top-15 finish in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:09.70, placing 16th overall in a competitive finals field.
In the short sprints,
JASMINE COOKE paced the Hilltoppers in both the 100 and 200, highlighted by a 25.84 in the 200-meter dash against a field that included multiple sub-24-second performers.
The field events also saw progression, as
LORENA CERDA posted a personal-best 4.72 meters in the long jump.
Across the board, the Hilltoppers combined for eight personal-best marks and multiple near-top-10 finishes, with their distance group continuing to emerge as a strength against high-level competition.
Against one of the toughest meets on the outdoor schedule, St. Edward's showed measurable progress and another step forward as the season builds toward conference competition.
