College Junior Shatters Her Own Record Twice in One Day

Ashley Sheldon wasn't satisfied with breaking one record on Saturday. The Union College junior broke her own program record in the 60-meter hurdles twice in the same competition, then won the high jump for good measure.

Competing at the Utica Blue & Orange Invitational in Utica, New York, Sheldon first set a program record of 9.25 seconds in the preliminary rounds. Just hours later, she shaved more than a tenth of a second off that time, finishing the finals in 9.14 seconds and breaking into the top 50 nationally.

Between her hurdles runs, Sheldon dominated the high jump competition. She cleared 1.64 meters (about 5 feet 4 inches) to take first place, needing only one attempt at each of the first three heights before the winning leap.

Her performance sparked something special across the entire Union College women's track and field team. The Garnet Chargers posted seven new Liberty League Championship qualifications, eight personal bests, and 13 season bests in a single day.

Junior Kat Doran qualified for the conference championships in three events, running personal bests in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes. Sophomore Kyleigh Record knocked two full seconds off her personal best in the mile, finishing sixth in 5:19.49.

First-year runner Benny Pierre Louis also earned a conference qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles at 10.36 seconds. Juniors Amelia Wagner and first-year Josephine Withbroe both posted career-best times in the 3,000-meter run, finishing eighth and ninth respectively.

Why This Inspires

Breaking your own record once is impressive. Breaking it twice in the same day while also winning a completely different event shows what happens when an athlete finds their perfect zone. Sheldon's excellence didn't just earn her medals; it lifted her entire team to new heights.

The competition was non-scoring, meaning there was no team championship on the line. Yet the Union athletes pushed themselves to career-best performances anyway, proving that the best motivation isn't always external pressure but the inspiration of watching teammates exceed what they thought possible.

The qualified athletes return to competition next Saturday at the NYU Division III Invitational, carrying momentum from a day when records fell and barriers broke.