MANKATO, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's track and field team had five top-five performances at the season-opening Chuck Petersen Open on Saturday at Myers Field House on the campus of Minnesota State University.

Senior Sophie Abernethy, junior Grace Moeller, and junior Molly Kate McCloskey recorded top-five finishes in distance events, while junior Ashlyn Jore was in the top five in the long jump and high jump for St. Olaf at the unscored meet. The meet primarily consisted of NCAA Division II competitors from Minnesota State Mankato and Winona State University.

Abernethy and Moeller led the way in a four-runner field in the one-mile run and posted top-10 times at the NCAA Division III level on the opening weekend of the season. Abernethy paced the field in 5:18.59, with Moeller just behind in 5:20.30. Those times rank seventh and ninth, respectively, in the country when converted to standardize the times for the national leaderboard. McCloskey was one of just two runners in the 3,000-meter run and won the event in 11:04.50, which ranks in the top 20 nationally.

Competing in fields filled with NCAA Division II student-athletes and a couple of her teammates, Jore placed fourth in the long jump (5.21m, 17' 1 ¼") and fifth in the high jump (1.50m, 4' 11").

After an extended break for finals and the holidays, St. Olaf will return in 2025 with an Intrasquad/Alumni Meet on Friday, Jan. 10 at Tostrud Center.