Kathleen Merchant won the javelin to lead the St. Lawrence University women's outdoor track and field team on the first day of competition at the All Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Championships at St. John Fisher on Wednesday.

Merchant, who also won the javelin when the meet was last held in 2019, defended the title with a throw of 41.24 meters, her best throw since early April. She was in second place after the preliminary round with a mark of 38.32 meters, but uncorked her best throw of the day on the first throw of the finals and led for the remainder of the competition.

Olivia Watson also had a podium finish for the Saints, finishing fourth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:50.26.

Isabel Caprood posted a PR in the 100 hurdles, finishing her preliminary heat in 15.82 seconds to finish 10th, just 0.12 seconds out of a spot in tomorrow's finals.

Kimberly Merchant (ninth place, javelin) and Billie McClosky (11th place, 3,000 steeplechase) also competed for the Saints, with McClosky posting a six-second PR.

Through eight of 22 events, St. Lawrence sits in seventh place in the 34-team field with 15 points. Ithaca College is in the lead with 53 points. Both Merchant sisters will compete in the discus and Kathleen Merchant will compete in the shot put tomorrow. Alli Sibold will run the 1,500 for the Saints.

Head Coach Kate Howard
"We are off to a great start after day one of the AARTFC Championships. Kathleen Merchant showed incredible poise in the javelin final, overtaking the lead in the fourth round to defend her javelin title from 2019. Olivia Watson created some excellent momentum for us to carry into day two with a late-night podium finish in the 10,000."

St. Lawrence Day 1 Competitors
Kathleen Merchant - First place, Javelin (41.24 meters)
Olivia Watson - Fourth place, 10,000 (38:50.26)
Kimberly Merchant - Ninth place, Javelin (32.95 meters)
Isabel Caprood - 10th place, 100 hurdles (15.82)
Billie McClosky - 11th place, 3,000 steeplechase (12:16.64)

Day 1 Results