CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Mount St. Joseph University track and field teams opened the 2025–26 indoor season on Saturday by hosting the MSJ Fall Preview inside the Centennial Fieldhouse. The Lions turned in a strong first performance of the year, with the women's team finishing fourth and the men's team placing fifth.
The MSJ women were led by an impressive showing in the field events. Freshman Reghan Puthoff captured the high jump title, standing alone as the only athlete to clear 1.50 meters in her collegiate debut. Fellow freshman Aunaleisa Newhart also scored in the event, tying for fourth at 1.40 meters. In the pole vault, sophomore Josie Rigdon placed third with a clearance of 2.45 meters to add valuable points to the Lions' total.
Senior Londyn Frazier was a consistent contributor, finishing eighth in the long jump to score one point before taking seventh in the triple jump to add two more. In the throwing events, junior Asia Branch delivered a pair of fourth-place finishes in both the shot put and weight throw, totaling nine points on the day. Freshman Sophie Rawlings added to the team score with a 10th-place finish in the shot put, while senior Sienna Slaughter earned a third-place finish in the weight throw.
On the track, several freshmen made strong first impressions. Bella Pastura placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.26 to score six points in her first collegiate race. Junior Sydney Williams added four points with a fifth-place finish in the 60-meter dash (8.29) and followed with a sixth-place showing in the 200 meters. The 4x200-meter relay team of Ariel Riddle, Williams, Pastura and Olivia Forte finished fourth with a time of 1:51.92. Riddle also placed fourth individually in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 1:06.04.
On the men's side, the Lions also saw solid contributions across events. Freshman Dakota Randazzo scored three points with a sixth-place finish in the high jump. In the throws, junior Kaleb Fitzgerald placed eighth in the shot put to earn four points, while freshman Bryan McCutcheon finished just outside the top 10.
The distance and sprint events provided additional scoring opportunities for the Lions. In the mile run, sophomore Alex Taft led the way with a third-place finish, followed by senior Mitch Reveal in sixth and freshman Henry Bowman in ninth. Freshman Logan Wright earned two points with a seventh-place result in the 800 meters. The 200-meter dash saw three Lions score, with sophomore Chris Barrow placing fourth, senior Kyle Evers Smith fifth and freshman Ezekiel Thomas seventh. Freshman Christian Sumner added to the team total with an eighth-place finish in his event.
After opening the indoor season on a positive note, the Lions will take a break from competition before returning to action on January 24, when they will once again compete at home in the Centennial Fieldhouse.
