SUPERIOR, Wis.- The University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field team spent the 2024 indoor season making a statement with their mixture of young and upcoming talent plus experienced and proven talent. That statement was: "we have officially arrived" and that statement has never been louder than on Saturday; day two of the 2024 UMAC Indoor Championships.
After picking up three event wins yesterday and closing out day one in second place as a team, the Eagles had more in store for day two on Saturday. The 2024 indoor season has presented UNW fans with a handful of new faces who have been performing well throughout the winter. However, on Saturday, it was a familiar face who led the way.
Deanna Trucksess (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake), who has been the leader of this program for the past couple of seasons, continued her UMAC dominance on Saturday. The junior won all three sprinting events and was named the Indoor Athlete of the Meet in 2023 and added to her already legendary resume on Saturday in Superior. Trucksess won the 60M Dash in a photo finish with a time of 8.19 seconds. The Eagle superstar then turned around and won the 200M Dash with a time of 27.15 seconds.
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) was right behind Trucksess in the 200M, finishing in third place at 27.33 seconds.
Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids) (28.44 seconds),
Lydia Rieschl (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Fourth Baptist Christian School) (28.75 seconds), and
Holly Rands (Ladysmith, Wis./Ladysmith) (29.58 seconds) also competed in the 200M.
Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing), who won the 1 Mile Run on Friday, landed on the podium once again on Saturday. The freshman's time of 2:23.36 gave her a second place finish and was less than a second away from a PR.
Isabelle Yuhanna (Ham Lake, Minn./North Lakes Academy), who picked up a PR in the 5000M on day one, responded on day two by picking up another PR. This time, it was in the 3000M. She finished in seventh place overall with a time of 11:45.29.
Moravchik, who picked up a gold medal on Friday with a win in the 400M, competed in the 60M Hurdles on Saturday. She picked up a bronze finish this time with a time of 9.84 seconds.
One of the biggest stories of the weekend for the Eagles was the success they had in the relay events. On Friday, the UNW 4x200M team won the event and broke the indoor program record. On Saturday, the 4x400M team did the exact same thing. The Eagles won the event with the fastest time in school history: 4:16.51. The relay team consisted of
Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids),
Deanna Trucksess (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake),
Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing), and
Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland).
Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) and
JaneyAnne Grossinger (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek) competed in the Shot Put on Saturday. Ashton threw a distance of 8.87m and Grossinger landed at 8.66m.
The Eagles finished the meet in a tie for second place with Bethany Lutheran at 112 points. Wisconsin-Superior won the event at 149 points.
After an extremely exciting indoor season, UNW Track and Field fans have a lot to look forward to from this squad in the outdoor season in 2024.
