At the Varsity Classic on Monday, February 8, Spence took to the track at the familiar confines of the New Balance Armory with a specific set of goals: reach the qualifying standard for the NY Federation Championship in the 4x800M Relay and individual tune-up for Thursday’s NYSAIS Federation Qualifier. What happened was a memorable night at the oval that saw two school records fall and a national mark set!

Junior Natalie B. and sophomore Brooke H. both competed in the meet that featured student-athletes from across the Tri-State area. Brooke turned in a strong performance in the 400M (1:09.37), her first competition in a meet of this size. Natalie prepared for Thursday’s big 300M qualifier by running in the 200M and posting a solid 26.95 seconds.

The records started falling when freshman. Maggie H. took the track in the open 800M, also a tune-up for her performance in the 1000M on Thursday. Maggie blazed across the finish in 2:16.10—not only a new school record, but also the fastest 800M performance by a freshman girl nationwide this indoor season.

The Frosh Four (Eloise F., Maggie H., Cristina M. and Esme L.) took center stage in the 4x800M Relay with their eye on the school record and the NY Federation Championship qualifying mark. As they have throughout the indoor season, the young women closed in on their target and hit the mark with a time of 10:12, both a new school record and three seconds under the Federation qualifying standard.

The Sabers will return to the New Balance Armory on Thursday for the NYSAIS Federation Qualifiers with the goal of sending multiple athletes to Cornell University for the NY Federation Championship in early March.

Congratulations to Maggie, Eloise, Cristina and Esme on setting new records Monday night—a perfect way to kick off Spence Spirit Week festivities!