FAIRFAX, VA – The University of Dayton women's track and field team opened up the first day of competition in the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, and after one day of competition, the Flyers find themselves in first place on the women's side.
 
"We had a great opening for the A10 championships today," commented director of track and field Jason Ordway. "Each event area performed well, setting multiple personal bests, top marks in school history, and the meet record in the 60m trials. Having Robertson, Flight, and Studebaker earn All-Conference honors with teammates collecting points as well, was huge for us to leave day 1 in the lead in team scoring. We really set a strong tone for the rest of the weekend. We have additional events incoming tomorrow that should play to our strengths and offer an opportunity to fight for a solid ranking to complete a successful conference meet."
 
Place       Team                       Pts
1          Dayton                         33.5
2          George Mason             32
3          UMass Amherst           31
4          Richmond                    26
5          VCU                             22
6          Duquesne                    20
7          La Salle                       16
8          Rhode Island              15.5
9          Fordham                     12
10        Davidson                     10
11        George Washington     8
11        Saint Louis                   8
 
The Flyers set the pace for the field throughout the meet, performing well in sprints, distance, and the field events. Senior Taylor Robertson led things off for the Flyers in the pole vault, finishing third overall in the event with a final height of 3.80m. That performance earned Robertson All-Conference honors in the event.
 
Two-time Atlantic 10 Rookie Performer of the Week Chante Clinkscale set the pace on the track for the Flyers Saturday, beginning with her performance in the prelims for the 60m race. The freshman set a new meet record, finishing first overall in the prelims with a new UD record time of 7.40. Fellow freshman Kaira Granger also qualified for the 60m finals, finishing in sixth overall. Clinkscale would go on to qualify for the 200m finals as well, finishing with a 24.55 time. Lainey Studebaker was named to the All-Conference team for her effort in the 5000m race, finishing second overall with a 16:34.53, the second-best all-time mark for Dayton in the event.
 
Three new personal best marks were set in the weight throw finals Saturday night, as grad student Taylor Flight won the event outright, earning herself All-Conference honors with a winning toss of 19.07m. Junior Hannah Lindenman finished in seventh overall, with a new PR of 17.21m. Grace Homan, the junior Botkins, Ohio native, would also go on to set a new personal best, finishing in 13^th with a 15.49m mark.
 
The Flyers will put their first place standing on the line Sunday, as they will round out the second and final day of the Atlantic 10 Championships. A schedule of events for Sunday can be found here, and Sunday's competition will be streamed on ESPN+, viewable with this link.