Harmon Moves into Fifth in CMS History in 5000 Meters at Occidental Invitational

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Riley Harmon moved into fifth place in CMS history, and into 16th in Division III this season (pending other results) in the 5000 meters at the Occidental Invitational on Saturday to highlight the performance of several Athenas who attended.

Harmon finished the race in 16:54.25, which trims over 10 seconds off her personal best and places her in a tight bunch with Meredith Bloss (16:51.32) and Emily Clarke (16:53.28) in the 3-4-5 spots in the CMS record books, and in the No. 13, No. 14 and No. 16 spots in the country this season.

The top 22 receive invites to the NCAA Division III Championships at the end of the month, and Harmon is already in solid shape in the steeplechase, where she ranks No. 10 in the country, and is now in position to potentially compete in two events at nationals. 

Caroline DelVecchio and Brooke Simon won their individual events at the Occidental Invitational for the Athenas as well. DelVecchio finished in first in the 100-meter hurdles in 1:01.42, the second-fastest time of her career and just off the school record of 1:01.21 she set earlier this season (which ranks fifth nationally). She edged out Morgan Hurst of the University of Mary in North Dakota by just three-hundredths of a second.

Simon won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.75 meters, which was short of her personal best of 3.90 set at the SCIAC Championships, which still ranks tied for first in the country. 

Simone Rogers matched her PR in the high jump with a 1.55 meter clearance to finish in third place. Laura Zimmer ran a 2:13.35 in the 800 meters, just off her PR of 2:13.00.

CMS athletes are scheduled for one more event, the Redlands Last Chance Meet on May 18-19, as they try to earn qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships.