MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (May 23, 2024) – Graduate student Laura Mathews of the Stevens Institute of Technology women's outdoor track and field team sits in fourth place in the heptathlon through four events at the 2024 Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. 

The Denville, New Jersey product totaled 3,113 to sit in fourth place out of 22 competitors and is 143 points out of first place. Loras' Grace Alley, the top seed entering the event, sits in first place through the first four events with a score of 3,256 points. Carnegie Mellon's Elizabeth Barre sits 26 points behind Alley in second place with 3,230 points, while Emory's Nikki Boon is in third with 3,173 points and is 50 ahead of Mathews. Rochester's Ashley Heffernan, who was seeded fourth entering the event sits in 15th place with a score of 2,807.

Mathews finished first in two of the four events contested Thursday. She began her first-ever multi event at nationals by winning the 100-meter hurdles in 13.80 seconds, more than a half-second ahead of the second-place finisher. The 1,007 points Mathews collected in the event were the highest by any competitor across the first four events. She would close out the day by winning the 200-meter dash in 24.23 seconds, again finishing more than a half-second ahead of the second-place finisher. Her 200-meter dash time was the second-fastest outdoor time of her career and just one-hundredth-of-a-second off matching her outdoor PR.

In between, Mathews cleared 1.54 meters in the high jump (14th) and touched 9.26 meters (21st) in the shot put. The victory in the final event of the day moved Mathews from ninth place to fourth. 

Up Next: Mathews continues her national championship quest Friday. She'll complete the final three events of the heptathlon (long jump, javelin and 800) beginning at 1:30 and will run the first round of the 100-meter hurdles at 4:10. Interestingly, Mathews is set to compete in the 800-meter run to close out the heptathlon just 35 minutes after the prelims in the 100 hurdles. Links for live stats and video for the entire day are posted to StevensDucks.com.

Athletic Department Social Media
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
X (Formerly Twitter): @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks

Women's Track & Field Social Media
Facebook: "Like" Stevens XC & TF
X (Formerly Twitter): @StevensXC_TF
Instagram: @StevensXC_TF

#AllRise