GETTYSBURG, Pa. – With 20 returning athletes and 16 newcomers dotting the roster, a deep Gettysburg College women's track and field team will seek improvement in the highly-competitive Centennial Conference (CC) in 2017.
 
Under seventh-year head coach Aubrey Shenk, the Bullets are coming off a year in which they finished fourth at the Centennial Conference Indoor Championship and fifth at the outdoor conference meet. The team also brings back seven Bullets who scored points at the indoor or outdoor conference meets by virtue of their top-eight finish and nine athletes who have a place among the school's all-time top-10 performance lists.
 
The Bullets competed in their first meet of the year in early December but begin the year in earnest at the Lehigh University John Covert Classic on Saturday.
 
The following is an event-by-event preview heading into the season:
 
MULTI EVENTS
Sophomore Danielle DeMichael (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) enters the season as the team's lone multi-event competitor after a strong debut season last year in which she placed sixth at the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships in the pentathlon and sixth at the outdoor conference meet in the heptathlon. She ranks ninth in school history in both the pentathlon (2,058 points) and the heptathlon (2,855 points). DeMichael will also compete in the middle-distance events.
 
SPRINTS
Up to eight athletes could contribute in the sprints for the Bullets this season.
 
Leading the way will be junior Sarah Congdon (Sewell, N.J./Clearview Regional) and senior tri-captain Emily Waddell (Washington, D.C./Georgetown Visitation Prep), both of whom ran on the 4x200-meter relay that earned the bronze at last year's Centennial Conference Indoor Championship. They also helped lead the team to a conference title in the outdoor 4x400 relay two years ago.
 
Congdon, also a tremendous hurdler, finished fifth in the Centennial Conference in the 400-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor conference meet last season, and she ranks fourth all-time at Gettysburg in the indoor 400 (1:00.88) and sixth in the outdoor 400 (59.57). Waddell, who is also a triple jump specialist, has been one of the team's top 200 and 400 competitors over the last three years.
 
Sophomore Lauren Monnerat (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) also returns after posting the team's fastest time of the season in the indoor 200 and the second-best marks in the indoor 60 and outdoor 200. Junior Alex Wykoff (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), also a hurdles specialist, could also contribute in the sprints this season, along with junior transfer Kendra Meredith (Boyds, Md./Northwest), who also competes for Gettysburg's women's basketball team and will join the track squad for the outdoor campaign. Meredith enjoyed an outstanding two years as a sprinter and jumper at Division II Southern Connecticut State University before coming to Gettysburg.
 
Freshman sprinters will include Gemma O'Keefe (Sykesville, Md./Century), Kali Tyler (Milton, Mass./Milton Academy), and Emily Wielk (West Haven, Conn./Sacred Heart).
 
MIDDLE DISTANCE
Gettysburg should feature outstanding depth in the middle-distance events, with up to 14 Bullets competing.
 
Senior Amanda Asaro (Mount Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane) returns to lead the middle-distance crew after a strong junior campaign in which she placed seventh in the mile at the Centennial Conference Indoor Championship. She has recorded an outstanding career for the Bullets and holds the outdoor school record in the mile (5:12.89), and she also ranks fourth all-time at Gettysburg in the indoor mile (5:19.12) and sixth in the outdoor 800-meter run (2:21.17).
  DeMichael also returns in the middle distances along with seniors Eva Karkuff (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Amanda Wivell (Windsor, Pa./Red Lion) and sophomores Katie Bell (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton), Colleen Campbell (Erie, Pa./Collegiate Academy), Elisabeth French (Westport, Conn./Staples), Margot Hoagland (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North), Quinn Igram (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde), and Paige Wesolowski (Groveland, Mass./Pentucket Regional).
 
DeMichael clocked the team's fastest 800 time of the outdoor season last year while Karkuff, one of the team's most versatile performers, was second among the Bullets in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Wivell supplies the team with another versatile competitor, having run both middle and long distances during her career.
 
Providing additional depth will be freshmen Carly Berman (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), Sullie Desmond (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), Catherine Dobensky (Shelton, Conn./Lauralton Hall), Leah Hill (Media, Pa./Penncrest), Hailey Moseman (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow),
 
DISTANCE
Sophomore Sarah Rinehart (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) will return to pace the distance team this year. A highly-versatile runner, she scored at the Centennial Conference Outdoor Championship last season with a sixth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She ranks second in school history in the steeple (11:39.87), and she is also 10th all-time at Gettysburg in the indoor mile (5:29.91).
 
Sophomore Madison Fox (Akron, Pa./Ephrata) and freshmen Abby Hines (Silver Spring, Md./James Hubert Blake) and Jacqueline Russell (Rockport, Maine/Camden Hills) will also bolster the squad in the distance events.
 
HURDLES
Congdon returns to lead a group of four in the hurdles, and she has excelled in both the high and intermediate hurdles over her first two seasons with the Orange and Blue. Last season, she scored in the hurdles at both the indoor and outdoor Centennial Conference Championship, placing sixth in both the 60- and 100-hurdles. However, her top event is the 400-hurdles, and she broke the school record in the event last season in 1:04.90. She also ranks second in Gettysburg history in the 60-hurdles (9.77) and seventh in the 100-hurdles (16.02).
 
Wykoff provides the team with another highly-experienced hurdler while Moseman and freshman Abigail Rec (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) will also look to make their mark.
 
JUMPS
With a mix of returners and promising newcomers, the jumps could be an area of strength for the Bullets.
 
Junior Ellery Lyon (Sheldonville, Mass./King Philip), a high jump and throws specialist, is back after scoring at both conference championship meets last season. She claimed the bronze in the high jump at the Centennial Conference Outdoor Championship, and she also placed sixth in the same event indoors.
 
Waddell returns to lead the squad in the triple jump after excelling in the event over the past three years. Last season, she posted the team's second-best mark in the triple jump both indoors and outdoors.
 
Meredith could also give the team a boost in the jumps during the outdoor season. She was a two-time All-Region selection in the long jump at Southern Connecticut, where she competed in the triple jump as well.
 
Providing additional depth will be freshman Sierra Conboy (Ventura, Calif./Calif.), who is also a member of the Gettysburg volleyball team, as well as O'Keefe and Rec.
 
THROWS
Lyon and senior Sara Graham (Pottstown, Pa./Hill School) return to lead the Bullets in the throws this season.
 
Lyon scored at both the indoor and outdoor Centennial Conference Championships a year ago, placing seventh in the javelin and eighth in the indoor shot put. Graham was also a conference place-winner last year, taking sixth in the shot put at the outdoor conference meet. She owns the school record in the event (41-9 1/2), and she enjoyed a strong performance in her indoor debut this past December, moving into second in school history in both the shot put (38-2) and the weight throw (41-3).
 
Junior Mikaela Collins (Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) and sophomore Kiersten Dyhrberg (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) are also back to provide Gettysburg with additional depth. Collins was the team's leading discus thrower last season, and she also posted the second-best mark in the indoor shot put, an event in which she ranks 10th in school history (34-2 3/4). Dyhrberg will also look to make her mark in the shot, discus, and weight throw, an event in which she ranks third in school history (36-8 1/4).
 
The Bullets will also feature freshmen Kenzie Horst (Stevens, Pa./Ephrata) and Katharine Taylor (Belmar, N.J./Saint Rose) in the throws.
 
POLE VAULT
Wesolowski and freshman Hannah Seabert (Monroeville, N.J./Delsea Regional) will lead Gettysburg in the pole vault this season. Wesolowski, who was the team's top vaulter during the outdoor season, ranks fifth (tied) in outdoor school history (9- 1/4) and is eighth all-time at Gettysburg indoors (8-6 1/4).
 
SCHEDULE
Gettysburg will compete in the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 27-28 at Ursinus College. The Bullets will kick off their outdoor campaign at Franklin & Marshall College on March 25 with the Little Three Meet, and they will host their lone home meet of the season April 22 with the Mason-Dixon Invitational. The Centennial Conference Outdoor Championships are set for May 5-7 at Johns Hopkins University.