GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Allegheny women's track and field team captured the 2021 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championship with an impressive team showing, earning 177 points.
 
The Gators edged Ohio Wesleyan by just five points for their first conference crown since 2008, and the program's 14th NCAC outdoor track & field championship.
 
In addition to the team title, head coach Justin Linzy was named the NCAC Coach of the Year, while senior Sarah Lucas (Charleroi, Pa./Ringgold) was named the Distance Athlete of the Year. This marked the third straight outdoor championship in which the Gators earned the Distance Athlete of the Year award.
 
Lucas started her impressive day by winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:11.23.  That time, which earned her All-NCAC honors, currently ranks 16th in all NCAA Division III. Lucas had a repeat finish competing hours later in the 5,000-meter run, as she edged teammate Megan Aaron (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) by .21 seconds, winning with a time of 18:27.27.  Additionally, Lucas had a fourth-place finish in the 1,500. 
 
The 5,000-meter run proved to be a fruitful event for the Gators as they had five runners place in top eight, helping to propel Allegheny to the top of the team standings with one event remaining. In addition to Lucas and Aaron at the top, Sarah Maue (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) took finished third, Emma Wall (Douglass, Mass./Douglas) finished fifth and Molly Tarvin (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwest Lehigh) finished seventh. Aaron and Maue earned All-NCAC honors for their performances in the event.
 
Elizabeth Debich (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) collected the third individual title for the Gators.  The senior captured first in the discus with a toss of 40.12 meters (131 feet, 7 inches).  That distance won the event by four meters, earning her All-NCAC honors. After winning the discus, Debich went on to earn All-NCAC honors in the shot put, as she finished runner-up with a toss of 11.63 meters (38 feet, 2 inches).
 
In the first event of the day, Aaron earned All-NCAC honors as she finished as the runner-up in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:27.04.
 
Mihaela Toader (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) earned four All-NCAC honors, including two in individual events.  She started off by finishing runner-up in the triple jump with a leap of 10.23 meters (33 feet, 5.6 inches), earning a All-NCAC honor.  Later on, Toader earned All-NCAC with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.26.  In addition to the two All-NCAC honors in individual events, Toader scored in the 100-meter dash by placing fifth.
 
The 4x100 relay team consisting of Emma Anderson (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), Kelsey Anderson (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), Eva Martino (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) and Toader also earned All-NCAC honors with a 50.65 runner-up finish.  
 
The 4x400 relay team had a similar result, as Emma Anderson, Kelsey Anderson (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton), Rachel and Toader placed second with a time of 4:14.11, sealing the team victory in the final event of the day.
 
In addition to the pair of All-NCAC nods in the relay events, Emma Anderson earned All-NCAC honors with a third-place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:01.71. She also took fifth in the 200 meter dash.
 
Tarvin was also the recipient of a All-NCAC nod as she took second place in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:46.86. In the 800-meter run, Maya Rachel (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) finished second with a time of 2:23.86, also earning All-NCAC honors.
   
 
Point Scorers
 
100 Meter
Toader – 5th (13.50)
Martino – 6th (13.55)
 
200 Meter
^ Toader – 3rd (27.26)
E. Anderson – 5th (27.51)
 
400 Meter
^ E. Anderson – 3rd (1:01.71)
K. Anderson – 6th (1:02.88)
 
800 Meter
^ Rachel – 2nd (2:23.86)
Pearl Cooper (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) – 7th (2:32.73)
 
1500 Meter
^ Tarvin – 2nd (4:46.86)
Lucas – 4th (4:50.05)
Maue – 5th (4:54.42)
 
5000 Meter
^ Lucas – 1st (18.27.27)
^ Aaron – 2nd (18:27.48)
^ Maue – 3rd (18:34.94)
Wall – 5th (18:39.14)
Tarvin – 7th (18:44.69)
 
10,000 Meter
^ Aaron – 2nd (38.27.04)
Maggie Malley (Cleveland, Ohio/Magnificat) – 6th (39:45.70)
Eva Kerr (Fredericksburg, Va./James Monroe) – 7th (39:59.66)
 
100 Hurdles
Melina Mangino (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) – 5th (16.88)
 
400 Hurdles
Mangino – 4th (1:15.45)
 
3000 Steeplechase
^ Lucas – 1st (11:11.23/currently 16th in Division III)
Rachel Walters (Mt. Lebanon, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) – 7th (12:46.94)
Genevieve Feltmeyer (Waterford, Pa./Fort Leboeuf) – 8th (12:51.82)
 
4x100
^ E. Anderson, K. Anderson, Martino, Toader – 2nd (50.65)
 
4x400
^ E. Anderson, K. Anderson, Rachel, Toader – 2nd (4:46.86)
 
Pole Vault
Meredith Glavach (Slippery Rock, Pa./Wilmington) – 8th (2.90m)
 
Long Jump
Glavach – 8th (4.22m)
 
Triple Jump
^ Toader – 2nd (10.31m)
 
Shot Put
^ Debich – 2nd (11.63m)
Lydia Giannini (Warren, Pa./Eisenhower) – 5th (11.22m)
 
Discus
^ Debich – 1st (40.12m)
Giannini – 5th (32.91m)
 
Hammer
Giannini – 8th (38.35m)
 
Javelin
Shannon Relihan (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) – 4th (31.94m)
Hope Gomez (Laveen, Ariz./Valley Christian) – 8th (27.50m)
 
^ All-NCAC