Caroline Banas	Bria DeBernardi	Cristina Giannelli	Chrissy Noonan	Jasmin Russo

Results

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The first-ever women's indoor track & field competition in University of Scranton history on Friday was bound to be a memorable event no matter what. But the Royals weren't satisfied simply competing.

Scranton won the 4x200 relay for the first victory in school history, and sophomore Caroline Banas (Dallas, Pa./Holy Redeemer) took first place in the high jump to highlight the Royals' performance at the River Hawks Opener, a non-team scoring event at Susquehanna University.

The 4x200 relay team of freshman Bria DeBernardi (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown Community) and sophomores Cristina Giannelli (Woodhaven, N.Y./Arcbhishop Molloy), Chrissy Noonan (North Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) and Jasmin Russo (Hamden, Conn./Sacred Heart Academy) gave the program its first victory when the group finished first with a time of 2:02.60.

Banas then gave the Royals their first individual victory when she won the high jump with a height of 1.67 meters (5 feet, 5.75 inches), which matched Reilly Wagner of Misericordia. But Banas won a jump-off to take first place.

"I am extremely proud of how the team did today," said head coach Ozzie Brown. "We know we have a lot to work on, but I see quite a bit of potential for our budding program. I'm excited to see where we go from here."

The Royals also received a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash from sophomore Sophie Evans (Scranton, Pa./West Scranton), who finished second in 8.33 seconds, .13 seconds behind Rae Rae Taylor of Penn State-Harrisburg.

The 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Nora Boussatta (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield), freshman Emily de Onis (Blue Town, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) and sophomores Michaela Farrell (Kirkwood, N.Y./Seton Catholic Central) and Abigail Tirador (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) was also second, finishing with a time of 4:29.97.

Boussatta had a strong debut as she also finished fourth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:39.00. Junior Alexa Cardella (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) was also fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.86 seconds.

The women's indoor track & field team will now break for finals and the holidays. The Royals will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the John Covert Classic at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.

--ROYALS--