BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Underscored by a pair of record-breaking performances from Chelsea Harrington and Elsa Rijpstra, not to mention a gold medal out of the former, the Nicholls State University track & field program closed out a notably successful Southland Conference Indoor Championships on Monday afternoon at the Birmingham CrossPlex, securing nine new marks on the school's all-time Top 10 rankings en route to the women's squad highest team finish (12th, 17 points) since the 2016 season.

Post-meet, head coach Stefanie Slekis denoted her pride in such an improvement despite all the challenges and obstacles of the past year, specifically highlighting Harrington's gold-medal finish along with the impressive showing from the Red & Gray distance runners.

"I am extremely proud that Chelsea capitalized on her opportunities this weekend by not only going out and winning the long jump, but earning another PR and resetting the school record," Slekis said. "And then after that, even though she's just starting to learn the high jump, she grabbed ninth place. Meanwhile, Elsa really maximized her point possibilities across both events, as she went out a got fifth in the 5,000m and seventh in the 3,000m, beating out a couple of the women she just got eighth against in the cross country championships a week ago, so we were really proud of how she raced.

"We managed to beat Lamar, so we're happy to be gaining on the conference, we're moving up. We would have hoped for a few more points, and we had some missed opportunities, but that just shows us that we still have so much room to grow and get better, so I'm excited to keep up that momentum heading into the outdoor season."

KEY STORYLINES & FINISHES
-- Just over two weeks removed from resetting the program long jump record at the Samford XC Invitational, Harrington posted her best-ever mark -- indoor and outdoor -- for the event by a wide margin, vaulting a new school-best 5.91m (19-4.75) for a gold medal in her second-consecutive podium finish at the SLC Championships. Additionally, the junior logged a ninth-place showing in the high jump behind a 1.60m (5-3.0) leap, a event she just began competing in earlier this semester.
-- Meanwhile, Elsa Rijpstra composed two solid outings in the 5000m and 3000m Runs, capturing fifth and seventh, respectively, and setting a new school record in the former behind a 17:27.89 time. For the latter, the Dutch import moved up to third on the all-time school Top 10 list on a 10:10.12 mark, paving the the way for strong finishes out of teammates Megan Nevlud -- placed 18th, seventh on all-time list -- and Lara Reifers -- 27th place, 10th on all-time list -- as well.
-- Senior Eleana Callejas just missed qualifying for the 800m finals in a ninth-place showing, clocking a 2:21.30 time as she improved her spot on the Nicholls all-time Top 10 list to ninth as well.
-- A pair of group events wrapped up the new all-time marks at ninth each, as the Distance Medley squad -- composed of Nevlud, Briana Land, Callejas and Reifers -- logged eighth overall at the meet on a 12:41.34 time while the 4x400 Relay team -- ran by Omo Oboh, Anginique Andrews, Nia Maye and Hailey Alcorn -- scored a 10th-place finish on a 3:57.23 mark.

UP NEXT
With the Southland Conference Indoor Championships wrapped up, the track & field program shifts focus to the outdoor season with the first meet set for Friday, Mar. 19 through Saturday, Mar. 20 at the Louisiana Classics.

STAY SOCIAL
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