The University of Richmond women’s track and field team put on a strong showing at the VMI Invitational on Saturday at the Corps Physical Training Facility in Lexington, highlighted by a standout performance from the Spider 4x400-meter relay team.

Richmond’s relay squad—senior Elke Van der Westhuizen, junior Nina Lavelle, freshman Molly Flanagan, and sophomore Morgan Elliot — claimed victory, finishing first out of 12 teams with a time of 3:51.22.

Van der Westhuizen also made waves in the 400-meter, taking second place with a time of 57.23, while Elliot finished third with a solid 57.79.

In the 800-meter, sophomore Ashley Bolesh raced to a second-place finish at 2:21.24, and senior Emily Rzucidlo wasn’t far behind, finishing fourth in 2:24.19.

Senior Lindsay Colflesh made her collegiate mile debut, crossing the line in 5:29.81 to finish 18th. In the 3000-meter, junior Phoebe Rubio clocked in at 10:19.82, securing a seventh-place finish.

The day also marked the debut of freshmen Avery Beike, Kayla Buback, and Mia Paolino, who all laced up their spikes for the first time this indoor season.

The Spiders will look to keep the momentum rolling at the Penn State National Open and VMI Winter Relays on January 31.