ATLANTA - The IU Indianapolis women's track and field squad opened the outdoor season on Friday (Mar. 20) on day one of the two-day Yellow Jacket Invite, hosted by Georgia Tech. Seven freshmen made their outdoor debuts on Friday and the Jaguars collected 11 new personal bests on the meet's first day. 

The distance runners made their impact on Friday evening as sophomore Ella Colclesser turned in a massive personal best in the 5,000m event, placing third in her race with a time of 17:58.02. In doing so, she shed 54 seconds off her previous best in kicking off the outdoor season. Senior Carina Alanis notched a personal best time of 18:34.96 and Grace Bragg spun a personal best time of 18:41.59. 

In the 1,500m event, senior Wini Barnett was the team's top finisher with a time of 4:53.25 and Julie Smith closed at 4:53.53 in an earlier heat. Freshman Kaylynn Bedel topped the newcomers with a time of 4:55.34 and classmate Riley Flynn had a time of 5:00.61. Fellow freshman Jenna Twedt posted a time of 5:00.95. 

Earlier in the evening, junior Journey Howard was tops among the three entries in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.08 and Skyler Sichting finished at 15.81. In the 100m dash, freshman Sarah Madi-Bouabre debuted with a time of 12.33 seconds and Jahzara McAlister ran 12.35 seconds. Paige Schulte registered a new personal best time of 12.53 seconds. 

The Jaguars will continue the meet on Saturday, beginning at noon.