Iona College Women’s track opened up their 2011 track season with a pair of meets. On Jan. 14, they raced at the Gotham Invitational at the 168th St. Armory Track and Field Center, and on Jan. 22 they raced at the Princeton Relays at the Jadwin Gym at Princeton.

The Gaels only had two runners racing in the 3000-meter run at the Gotham Cup in Manhattan, N.Y.

Freshman Tara Jameson led the way with a tenth place finish in the 3000-meter run.

Jameson’s performance was an indoor personal best for her, as she finished the race in 10:23.18. She was also the sixth collegiate finisher as three runners from La Salle took the top three spots.

Head Coach Ricardo Santos was satisfied and said, “Tara Jameson ran a solid opening race. She was a bit sick over the break so we are a little behind with her, but she gutted out a solid performance.”

Freshman standout Kirsten Stewart finished 16th overall in 10:41.26.

At the Princeton Relays freshman Reilly Sullivan finished the 500-meter dash in 1:22.69.

Sullivan was in the section three heat and placed third. Kristin Smoot of Princeton ran the fastest out of the five heats and won in 1:16.45.

Senior Chelsea Borbolla raced in the 800-meter dash and was seventh in the section one heat, which was the fastest heat. Borbolla completed the race in 2:24.29, while Molly Higgins of Princeton won the race in 2:15.66.

Freshman Leigh Mazzella was tenth and junior Jenny Kurz was twelfth in section three. Mazzella ran 2:44.10, while Kurz ran 2:58.66.

Senior Kristen Peluso won the section two heat of the 1000-meter run in 3:11.83. Alexis Mikaelian of Princeton ran 2:53.59 in her heat and had the fastest time of the day.

Sophomore Luci McLoughlin raced in the 3000-meter run and ran a personal best with a time of 10:43.97, with freshman Courtney Veilleux running 11:04.43.

McLoughlin was fourth, while Veilleux was seventh in the section one heat.

Melissa Newberry of Princeton crossed the finish line in 9:44.78 and won the race.

Sophomore Erin Brady raced in the one-mile run and was ninth in the section four heat, while running 6:02.14.

Coach Santos commented on his team and their method of training by saying, “I like to use these early races to have kids race different events, so many of the middle distance kids will work on their strength, and in other instances we have some of the distance runners working on speed.”

The Gaels continue their season as they head to Madison Square Garden for the Millrose Games on Jan. 28.

Like the men, the women’s track team will also be busy preparing for the New Balance Invitational and the approaching MAAC championships, where both teams look to have a strong performance.