Harding University Women’s Sets New Mile Record

Courtesy Harding University Athletics Department

The Harding Bisons women’s indoor track team posted four NCAA Division II provisional times and broke one school record Saturday at the Samford Multi and Invitational held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Sophomore Ewa Zaborowska broke the Harding record for the indoor mile in placing fourth in 4 minutes, 49.88 seconds. It was the second-fastest time by a Division II runner this season and broke the previous record of 4:51.85 set by Hanna Ritakallio in 2001.

Zaborowska, a native of Wejherowo, Poland, is now provisionally qualified in both the mile and 3,000 meters. Her time of 9:46.39 in the 3,000 meters is 11th nationally in Division II. The top 16 times in each individual event are guaranteed a place in the indoor national meet.

Senior Portia Bell won the 60-meter dash for her first career indoor event victory. Bell qualified for the finals with a time of 7.69 seconds in the preliminaries. She topped that in the finals, running 7.60, the 10th-best time in Division II this season. Bell also ran a provisional time in placing seventh in the 200 meters. Her time of 24.76 was a career-best and ranked 21st in Division II.

Bell and Zaborowska teamed with Dallis Bailey and Tammy Kim for Harding’s fourth provisional mark. The quartet ran 11:54.87 in the distance medley relay, winning the event with the ninth-fastest time in Division II. The top 12 relay times advance to the indoor national meet.

Harding’s next action will be at the Lone Star Conference Meet on Feb. 23-24 in Lubbock, Texas.