SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University women's outdoor track & field team achieved three place-winning performances Friday to complement a strong showing in the prelim events as it put itself in position to vie for a trophy at the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships being contested at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Makayla Decker and Caroline Mercer earned spots on the awards stand in the discus. Decker finished her discus career as a four-time Top 10 finisher at the conference meet and a three-time place-winner. She earned her second straight fifth-place finish by virtue of her top mark of 138 feet, 8 inches (42.27 meters).
 
Mercer was the 19th seed in the discus but made the most of her opportunity, ultimately placing seventh with a huge PR of 128 feet, 10 inches. She was able to qualify for the finals by virtue of her opening throw – a toss of 126 feet, 9 inches (38.63 meters) that was the top mark of the opening throw. With her second throw of finals, Mercer achieved her new personal best.
 
Overall, Mercer finished with a new PR by 5 feet, 9 inches (2.75 meters) – she surpassed her previous best (123 feet, 1 inch (37.52 meters) with three of her six throws on the day. It was her first PSAC scoring effort in the discus after a 13th-place finish last year.
 
Carissa Bender scored in the pole vault for the second time in her outdoor career, matching her previous top finish with a seventh-place clearance of 11 feet, 7 ¾ inches (3.55 meters). Bender was just two inches (.05 meters) shy of her PR.
 
Perhaps most importantly, seven Raiders combined to total nine individual performances that qualified for Saturday finals. Izzy Slezak and Emily Calamia will be in a pair of sprint finals – Slezak paced SU in the 100 meters (11.99 seconds) and the 200 meters (24.71 seconds) while Calamia was the No. 2 Raider in the 200 (24.99 seconds) and the 400 (57.59 seconds).
 
Slezak became the third Raider in school history to break the 12-second mark in the 100 meters, albeit with a 3.4 meter/second wind reading (that was not even the strongest of the prelim heats). She was just .17 seconds off her PR in the 200.
 
Calamia was only .12 seconds off her 200-meter PR and only .18 seconds off her 400-meter PR. Alyssa Wert earned the top seed for the 400-meter finals by running 56.41 seconds.
 
In the hurdle events, Madison Malcolm qualified for the 100-meter finals with a time of 14.79 seconds while Melanie Barger achieved a place in the 400-meter finals by running 1:03.73. Malcolm narrowly missed a spot in the 400-meter hurdles finals by running 1:04.05, while Camryn Pyle ran a PR of 1:04.57 that will earn her 10th place.
 
Shippensburg had two women qualify for the 800-meter finals – the first time that has happened in 14 years. Mary Stoltz ran a season best of 2:16.61, while Ava Whysong came close to a PR with a time of 2:18.42. Lilah Drager (Mount Joy, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) finished 13th with a PR of 2:20.93.
 
The Raiders earned the No. 4 seed for the 4x100-meter relay finals, as
 
Aliyah Serrano, Calamia, Barger and Slezak ran 47.35 seconds. Individually, Serrano matched her 100-meter season best of 12.33 seconds and delivered a 200-meter season best of 25.25 seconds.
 
Among other completed finals, Kaitlin Calvello finished 13th in the heptathlon with a score of 3,796 points. Brooke Miller finished 12th in the PSAC debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:57. Riyah Whigham had SU's top long jump, finishing 12th on a mark of 18 feet, 1 ¾ inches (5.53 meters).
 
Slippery Rock currently leads the team standings with 59.5 points ahead of a Saturday that figures to have a lot of movement. Millersville has 38 points, while third place (ESU) through seventh place (SHIP) is separated by just seven points.
 
Saturday's competition begins at 11 a.m.
 
Friday Finals
 
3K Steeplechase
12. Brooke Miller 11:57.69
Anna Schaeffer DNS
 
Pole Vault
7. Carissa Bender 11' 7 ¾" (3.55m)
 
Long Jump
12. Riyah Whigham 18' 1 ¾" (5.53m)
15. Michelle Olak 17' 11 ¾" (5.48m)
 
Discus
5. Makayla Decker 138' 8" (42.27m)
7. Caroline Mercer 128' 10" (39.27m)
12. Carly Bennett 119' 0" (36.27m)
16. Lauren Bellows 114' 10" (35.00m)
 
Heptathlon
13. Kaitlin Calvello 3796
 
Heptathlon 100 Hurdles
Kaitlin Calvello 16.70
 
Heptathlon High Jump
Kaitlin Calvello 4' 10 ¼" (1.48m)
 
Heptathlon Shot Put
4. Kaitlin Calvello 32' 6 ¼" (9.91m)
 
Heptathlon 200
Kaitlin Calvello 27.42
 
Heptathlon Long Jump
8. Kaitlin Calvello 16' 8 ½" (5.09m)
 
Heptathlon Javelin
Kaitlin Calvello 45' 6" (13.87m)
 
Heptathlon 800
Kaitlin Calvello 2:37.24
 
PRELIMS
 
100
Izzy Slezak 11.99q
16. Aliyah Serrano 12.33
 
200
Izzy Slezak 24.71q
Emily Calamia 24.99q
10. Alyssa Wert 25.20
11. Aliyah Serrano 25.25
 
400
Alyssa Wert 56.41q
Emily Calamia 57.59q
 
800
Mary Stoltz 2:16.61q
Ava Whysong 2:18.42q
13. Lilah Drager 2:20.93
 
100 Hurdles
Madison Malcolm 14.79q
9. Linda Hussein 14.87
16. Michelle Olak 15.20
18. Layla Duggan 15.41
20. Camryn Pyle 15.50
 
400 Hurdles
Melanie Barger 1:03.73q
9. Madison Malcolm 1:04.05
10. Camryn Pyle 1:04.57
 
4x1 Relay
Aliyah Serrano, Emily Calamia, Melanie Barger, Izzy Slezak 47.35q