ST. PAUL, Minn. - The UNW Women's Track and Field Team opened their indoor season just down the road at Macalester on Saturday Morning. The Eagles got off to a quick start with top-five finishes in every event they participated in.
Beginning the meet in the 60 meter dash was senior Deanna Ammermann (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake), formerly Deanna Trucksess. Ammermann finished first in both the 60 meter prelim and the final, marking a time of 8.29. Joining Ammermann in the 60 meter was Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids). Njounang placed 8th with a time of 8.70.
Both Ammermann and Njounang also competed in the 200 meter dash, finishing sixth and tenth with times of 28.38 and 29.30, respectively. Also running in this event were sophomore Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) and freshman Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes). Hubbard completed the race in 31.83 seconds, finishing in 16th place. With an impressive performance, Moravchik crossed the line in third place at 27.60 seconds, which is only .67 seconds away from the all-time Northwestern record.
Adding to her impressive start, Moravchik won the 60 meter hurdle race with a time of 9.70 seconds, finishing just shy of her personal best in this event. Rounding out a successful day, Moravchik, Ammermann, Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral), and Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) placed second in the 4x400 meter relay, stopping the clock at 4:19.74. Three members of this relay team broke the school record last year, and were only 3 seconds away from that mark during this meet.
Prior to running in the 4x400, Maki took home a first place finish in the 800 meter event. Maki owns the UNW record for the 800 in both indoor and outdoor seasons; her time today was 2:24.11, which is only one second behind her all-time indoor record. Maki was joined on the track for the 800 by Kimberlyn Case (Sleepy Eye, Minn./Litchfield), Samary Acuna Arroliga (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley), and Faith Matvey (Meadowlands, Minn./Lakeview Christian Academy) who completed the race in fifth, seventh, and eighth with times of 2:48.45, 2:51.89, and 3:01.18, respectively.
Along with the 4x400 race, Corbett raced in the 1000 meter event. She finished third with a time of 3:18.16. These events marked the start to Corbett's track and field career at Northwestern. Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy) also made her track debut in this meet as she ran the one mile. Usselman set her personal record mark at 6:22.34, which was enough to give her a fifth place finish.
Rounding out the running events, the Eagles clinched their fourth first place finish of the day in the 3000 meter event coming on the legs of Isabelle Yuhanna (Ham Lake, Minn./North Lakes Academy) who shattered her personal best in this event by almost 40 seconds with a final time of 11:07.37. Joining Yuhanna in the race was Alicia Arredondo (Robbinsdale, Minn./Homeschool) who finished eighth with a time of 12:26.20
Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and Naomi Wallace (Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone Area) both represented the Eagles in the high jump. Wallace cleared 1.4 meters and finished third. Hubbard tied with a jumper from Macalester at a height of 1.5 meters. In an exciting jump off for first place, Hubbard narrowly fell short and took home second place in her first collegiate meet.
The Women's Team will look to build on the momentum from this meet at the Gopher Classic in two weeks, scheduled for February 8th.
