MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's outdoor track & field team opened the 2026 season this afternoon at Wesleyan, highlighted by two field event victories and several top finishes across the board.

Leanna Wells captured first place in the shot put with a throw of 12.87 meters, while Katie Lynch placed fourth (11.07m) and Kylie Allen added an eighth-place finish (10.65m).

Lynch followed with a first-place performance in the discus, recording a throw of 37.89 meters, while Grace Richard (33.09m) and Wells (31.58m) also placed among the top eight. Lynch added another strong performance in the hammer throw, finishing tied for fifth with a mark of 36.96 meters.

Emma McGuinn led the Engineers in the 100 meters, placing fifth in 12.98 seconds, while Alyssa Fici followed in seventh with a time of 13.06. In the 200 meters, Lauren Szalkowski paced RPI with a fourth-place finish in 25.96, followed by Ava Marcucci in sixth (26.23) and Fici in eighth (26.27). Szalkowski returned in the 400 meters to earn a runner-up finish in 1:00.05, while Marcucci added a sixth-place result in 1:01.87.

The Engineers also delivered strong efforts in the middle-distance events. Laura Hoag secured second place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:23.40, while Anoua Carrie finished fourth in 2:25.42, giving RPI two top-four finishers in the event. McGuinn added another result in the 100-meter hurdles, placing seventh in 16.08.

Emma Muir captured a fourth-place finish in the javelin at 34.40 meters, followed by Grace Garman in eighth (29.33m). 

Alice Brambati delivered a standout performance, placing second in both the long jump with a mark of 5.57 meters and the triple jump at 11.18 meters. Tooni Olaleye added a third-place finish in the high jump with a clearance of 1.53 meters, while Ainsley Rausch placed fourth in the pole vault at 2.90 meters.

RPI is set to compete again next Saturday at UMass Amherst.