Bryn Mawr College's track and field team will compete in the seventh annual McElligott Invitational this Sunday, Jan. 30, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Haverford College Field House.

Individuals on the Track and Field Team compete by running in the mile, 5-kilometer, 800-meter, 200-meter and 55-meter events, and the team will compete in the distance medley, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays.

Joanna Simonis '05 will be competing in the mile and the 4 x 400 relay on Sunday. Last year Simonis broke the Centennial Conference record for 800 meters in the trials race at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships (running 2:12.62) and qualified for the finals. She finished third in the finals to become Bryn Mawr's first ever All-American and medalist in track and field.

Also during last season, Melissa Leedle '05 became the first Bryn Mawr runner to compete in an individual event at the prestigious Penn Relays, and was the second runner in program history to run a qualifying time for NCAA Division III Nationals.

Already in this 2004-05 indoor track season, Simonis, Leedle and teammate Joy Racowski '05, finished with times under the school record in the mile at the Jack Pyrah Invitational, held at Haverford College on Dec. 5, 2004.

The 4 x 400 relay team at the 2004 Penn Relays: Joy Racowski '05, Anna Tomasulo '07, Mali Petherbridge '04 and Joanna Simonis '05.

The 4 x 400 relay of Racowski, Ashley Dawkins '08, Anna Tomasulo '07 and Simonis ran the second-fastest indoor time ever for a Bryn Mawr team at the Jack Pyrah Invitational. Captains Leedle and Simonis will lead the team in the distance medley relay event at noon on Saturday. Last season, the team of Leedle, Mali Petherbridge '04, Simonis and Tomasulo broke the school record with a time of 12:43.55 in the challenging event, consisting of four legs of differing distances: 1200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1600 meters. The McElligott Invitational includes a third team event, the 4 x 200 meter relay.

First held in 1999, the McElligott Invitational was created in memory of Seamus McElligott, who was captain of the Haverford track and field team and a teammate of Dan Talbot, Bryn Mawr's present track and field coach. McElligott was a 14-time All-American and six-time National Champion in Division III during his time at Haverford. He qualified for the Olympic track team in 1992 and was a great competitor until his death in 1998.

Visit the track and field Web site at www.brynmawr.edu/athletics/intercollegiate/track/ to find a complete roster of the Bryn Mawr track and field team, the dates and holders of school records and more results from the Jack Pyrah Invitational.

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