CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The University of Northwestern Women's Track team divided and conquered on Saturday, participating in two meets in two different states. UNW participated in the final day of the NCCAA Indoor National Championships in Cedarville, Ohio, as well as the Gopher Classic in Minneapolis.
NCCAA Indoor National Championships - Day Two
The Eagles took the track for two final events in the second day of the NCCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In both events, Northwestern broke the previous school record. Impressively, UNW finished 12th out of the 19 teams in attendance after only participating in five events.
Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) took her mark in the 1 mile race. The junior finished 5th, just 0.8 seconds behind the 4th place finisher. On the way to her finish, Maki found another gear and shaved off almost six seconds from her career best mile time, which also stood as the Northwestern all-time record. Maki surpassed her old record of 5:20.24 with a new best time of 5:14.93.
Almost two-and-a-half hours after her record-breaking performance, Maki prepped for the 4x400 meter relay with her teammates, Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland), Deanna Ammermann (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake), and Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral). The relay team showcased an impressive run as they crossed the finish line in 4th place while setting another school record of 4:15.81. The previous record was set last year with three of the same runners from this year's squad.
While these ladies were performing in Ohio, their teammates took the track here in the cities at the Gopher Classic.
Gopher Classic
The rest of the UNW Women's Track and Field team participated in the Gopher Classic Saturday afternoon. The Eagles performed in a field of talented athletes from Divisions 1, 2 and 3.
The first Northwestern athletes to take the track were Kimberlyn Case (Sleepy Eye, Minn./Litchfield) and Samary Acuna Arroliga (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) in the 1 mile event. Case finished in 23rd place with a time of 6:25.86, while Samary followed right on her heels with a time of 6:26.90. Acuna Arroliga also raced in the 800 meters, where the freshman beat her career-best by 4 seconds stopping the clock at 2:46.65 and finishing 8th overall. Also racing in the 800 was Faith Matvey (Meadowlands, Minn./Lakeview Christian Academy). Matvey finished one spot behind Acuna Arroliga with a personal record time of 2:55.73.
Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids) and Naomi Wallace (Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone Area) finished back-to-back in the 400 meter dash with times of 1:08.49 and 1:10.15, respectively. Njounang also set a new season-best in the 200 meter dash; stopping the clock at 28.16 seconds.
Finishing the Eagles' time at the Gopher Classic, was Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy) in the 3000m. Usselman placed 16th in the meet with a time of 12:47.79.
Northwestern will be back on the track next Saturday at the Maday Classic in Superior, Wisconsin.
