MANKATO, Minn. – First years Rebekah Salfer and Ellie Pahl, as well as junior Paige Woldt, posted top-10 performances in program history as the St. Olaf College women's track & field team began its season with a third-place finish at the Chuck Petersen Open on Saturday at Myers Fieldhouse.
 
Salfer and Woldt posted top-10 times in the 60-meter hurdles, while Pahl broke into St. Olaf's top 10 in the shot put in her first collegiate meet. As a team, St. Olaf finished third with 77.5 points, trailing only NCAA Division II programs Minnesota State (252) and Winona St. (105).
 
Salfer and Woldt's top-10 times in the 60-meter hurdles both came in the prelims, as Salfer clocked in at 9.63 seconds and Woldt at 9.69 seconds. Salfer's time is sixth in program history, while Woldt's is tied for eighth. In the finals, Salfer went on to finish sixth (9.65) and Woldt was eighth (9.82). Senior Mackenzie Schoustra posted a time of 9.69 seconds to finish between Salfer and Woldt in seventh.
 
Pahl's mark of 12.59 meters (41' 3 3/4") in the shot put was good for third on St. Olaf's top-10 list in the event, as she finished sixth in the field.
 
The Oles had eight of the top-nine finishers in the 3,000 meters, led by senior Bryony Hawgood who was second in the event with a personal-best time of 10:28.94. Hawgood was followed by senior Lisa Fisher in third (10:52.04), junior Lauren Markowski in fourth (10:59.53) and senior Meredith Moore in fifth (11:08.58).
 
In the mile, first year Christine Albrecht posted a second-place finish in her first meet as an Ole, clocking in at 5:22.93. Junior Ellen Kemp established a new PR with a time of 5:43.15 in third, while senior Megan Rossman (sixth, 6:05.82) and first year Sophia Gossard (eighth, 6:37.69) also scored in the event.
 
Sophomore Lucia Ranallo (third, 2:40.25) and first year Lauren Johnson (fourth, 2:40.58) were separated by just 33 hundredths of a second in the 800 meters.
 
Other top-10 finishes for St. Olaf came from sophomore Ann Jansen in the 400 meters (eighth, 1:02.86), first year Teresa Pettitt-Kenney in the high jump (t-fourth, 1.45m, 4' 9") and Woldt in the triple jump (sixth, 10.63m, 34' 10 ½").
 
St. Olaf returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 14, at the Dutch Holiday Preview hosted by Central College in Pella, Iowa.