THE BASICS:
 
- Location: Sherie and Don (1961) Morrison Track (Cambridge, Mass.)
 
- The Lead: Led by two national-qualifying marks from sophomore Emily Ball (Des Moines, Iowa), the No. 5 ranked MIT women's track and field team concluded the 2023 regular season on Thursday evening at the MIT Final Qualifier. Overall, the Engineers posted five top-20 nationally-ranked marks at the meet.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- In the discus, Ball shattered her personal-best by nine feet, two inches and is now ranked fourth in the country with a throw of 158 feet, two inches. Ball also moved to No. 17 in the javelin with a PR of 136 feet, 11 inches. First-year Elaine Wang (West Des Moines, Iowa) placed third in the javelin as she posted a throw of 125 feet, 11 inches. Sophomore Alexis Boykin (Clayton, Ohio) won the shot put and enters nationals ranked seventh overall as she posted a throw of 47 feet, 11.75 inches.
 
- Senior Kirsi Rajagopal (Harrison, N.Y.) and first-year Katherine Sanderson (West Hartford, Conn.) both moved into the top 20 in the country as they finished second and third, respectively, in the 5,000 meters. Rajagopal is 19th with a PR of 16:56.51, while Sanderson is ranked 20th after her PR of 16:56.80.
 
- First-year Nony Otu Ugwu (Katy, Texas) placed second in the triple jump at 37 feet, 7.25 inches, while junior Tolu Akinbo (Naperville, Ill.) and first-year Katie Kempff (St. Charles, Ill.) were third and fourth in the high jump. Akinbo cleared five feet, 4.25 inches, while Kempff posted a mark of five feet, 2.25 inches.
 
- Sophomore Olivia Dias (East Taunton, Mass.) placed third in the 400 with a time of 59.24 seconds, along with sophomore Christina Crow (Mercer Island, Wash.) finished fifth in the 800 with a personal-best of 2:16.45.
 
- Below are the current top-20 rankings for the Engineers, from meets up to this point in the season as listed at www.tfrrs.org.
 
400 Meters
17. Marina Miller - 56.32
 
800 Meters
17. Julia Howarth - 2:11.45
 
1,500 Meters
10. Gillian Roeder - 4:28.79
 
5,000 Meters
19. Kirsi Rajagopal - 16:56.51
20. Katherine Sanderson - 16:56.80
 
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
12. Einat Gavish - 10:43.89
 
4x400 Relay
15. Madeline Hon, Shreya Kalyan, Marina Miller, Julia Howarth - 3:49.17
 
Shot Put
7. Alexis Boykin - 47' 11.75"
 
Discus
2. Alexis Boykin - 160'
4. Emily Ball - 158' 2"
 
Hammer Throw
2. Alexis Boykin - 193' 9"
 
Javelin
17. Emily Ball - 136' 11"
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT returns to action on May 25-27 as the Engineers travel to Rochester, N.Y. for the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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