MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Geneva College women's track and field team placed fourth at the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships, hosted at West Virginia University on Thursday and Friday.  The women, who finished just one point out of third place, were led by strong performances from seniors Jessie Taylor (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) and Olivia Younger (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny).  Grove City won the championship.

Taylor got the women off to a great start to begin Friday, coming from behind in the final 50 meters to win the 3000-meter steeplechase, breaking the school record in 11:19.96.  Taylor also placed fifth in the 5000-meter race later in the day in 19:05.04.

Younger won both the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles on Friday.  She finished the 100-meter hurdles in 15.12 seconds.  Younger won the 400-meter hurdles in 1:05.62.  She also placed seventh in the 100-meter race in 13:01 seconds.

Senior Katryn Gatchell (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) ran a great 800-meter race, finishing second in a time of 2:20.15.  Sophomore Jaci Mennetti (Coolspring, Pa./Dubois Area Catholic) placed third in the 10000-meter race in a time of 40:05.03.  Junior Naomi Swartzbaugh (Spartansburg, Pa./Spartansburg) had a strong day in the hurdles, finishing third in 400-meter hurdles in 1:10.45, while finishing fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.39 seconds.  Freshman Kendall Shaporka (Grindstone, Pa./Frazier) turned in a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.72.

In the relays, the women placed third in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 4:11.59, with Younger, Gatchell, Shaporka and senior Brooke Waters (New Castle, Pa./Shenango) running.  In the 4x100-meter relay, the women placed fifth in 51.92 seconds, with Younger, Waters, Shaporka and junior Elissa O'Connor (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk) running.

Several of these Golden Tornadoes have qualified for the National Christian College Athletic Association Championships which will be held over three days at Greenville University, beginning on Wednesday, May 11.

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva has one of the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and IACE (International Association for Christian Education).