Toledo, OH — A small van full of Goshen College athletes made a grand entrance and exit at the University of Toledo’s Toledo Rocket Open on Friday, as the Leafs’ women set three new program records in addition to securing a first- and second-place finish in two individual events.

With competition comprised primarily of NCAA Division I, II and III institutions, it was clear that Goshen felt right at home, notching three top-five finishes overall at the non-team scored meet.

“We took a partial team to this meet, and our women’s team members had a very productive afternoon by placing high in a number of events,” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “To be able to compete this well at a meet of this size and quality is a testament to both our athletes and their work ethic.”

Junior All-American Petrana Petkova led the Leafs’ charge, finishing first in the 3,000-meter run in a new school-record time of 10:15.76. That clip erased a five-year old mark of 10:16.54 set by Heidi Saunders in 2001. Petkova was one of only three non-NCAA Division I athletes to win an event at the Rocket Open.

“Petrana dropped down in distance from the 10K to the 5K to work on her speed for the upcoming NAIA outdoor nationals,” Clark said. “In the process she knocked off a five-year old mark.”

The Leafs’ talented, first-year corps was also well represented at the day-long event, as freshman Laura Harnish came in second only to an NCAA Division I athlete in the 800-meter run. Harnish broke her own Goshen mark in the process, turning in a time of 2:18.99, wiping away her old school record of 2:19.39 set earlier this season. Classmate Deanna Kronk also rewrote her own name in the school record books, placing eighth overall in the hammer throw with a distance of 136 feet, 10 inches — breaking her previous best mark of 135 feet, 3 inches set earlier this year.

“ Laura and Deanna both had very good efforts in their respective events,” Clark said.

Freshman Abri Houser — while unable to break either of her two current school records on Friday — was able to place in the top 10 in both the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles events, taking third in the former (:15.29) and seventh in the latter (1:06.19). Houser beat out a total eight NCAA Division I athletes between her two runs.

“Abri also worked at prepping herself for nationals by competing in the 100 and 400 hurdles where she ran her second-fastest times of the season in a very competitive field,” Clark said. “We’re at the point in the season now where we’re looking for peak performance. This meet was good for us in a lot of ways.”

For complete results from Friday’s Toledo Rocket Open, click here.

Goshen will next travel to Mid-Central Conference institution Indiana Wesleyan University for the annual IWU Last Chance Meet, an event dedicated to athletes looking to qualify for national competition who have posted near-miss numbers. That meet is slated for this Thursday afternoon.