ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field team participated in the St. Thomas Easter Invite on Thursday afternoon. In less-than-ideal weather, the team dug deep and secured several top-five finishes.
UNW raced in the first and last relays of the meet and finished first in both events. Leading off in the 4x100-meter relay, Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids), Deanna Ammermann (Spirit Lake, Iowa/Spirit Lake), Faith Matvey (Meadowlands, Minn./Lakeview Christian Academy), and Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland) notched their top spot with a time of 53.14. In the 4x400-meter relay, the Eagles saw several new faces in the race, as Meghan Corbett (Sartell, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral), Kimberlyn Case (Sleepy Eye, Minn./Litchfield), Samary Acuna Arroliga (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley), and Matvey combined for a 4:31.45 time.
Three of the four legs from the 4x100 stuck together as all three of them ran in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and the 400. Ammermann led the UNW charge in the 100 as she placed 9th overall with her 13.14-second finish. Njounang stopped the clock at 13.20 for a 12th-place finish, followed by Moravchik in 16th place with a time of 13.36. The order of their finishes stayed the same for the 200 with Ammermann crossing in 26.89 seconds in 18th place, and Njounang and Moravchik finishing with times of 26.96 and 27.88, respectively. Ammermann and Njounang were joined on the track by Corbett and Matvey for the open 400. Ammermann, Njounang, and Corbett broke the top 10 in the event with 7th and 9th place finishes and times of 1:02.18 and 1:02.96. Corbett followed in 10th place with a time of 1:04.38, and Matvey finished with a time of 1:11.72. Moravchik also raced the length of the track, just with hurdles along the way. She grabbed a 2nd place finish running the 400 hurdles in 1:08.24.
The 800-meter run had four Eagle runners participate. Finishing back to back, Case, Naomi Wallace (Pipestone, Minn./Pipestone Area), Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy), and Acuna Arroliga placed 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th. Case and Wallace notched times of 2:35.14 and 2:39.64 while Usselman and Acuna Arroliga turned in times of 2:43.55 and 2:43.82.
In the field, Wallace leaped her way to a 2nd place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.43 meters (4'8.25") and a 9th place finish in the Long Jump with a jump of 4.27 meters (14'1/4"). Joining Wallace in the high jump was Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes); the two freshmen jumped neck and neck as they finished at the same height with Hubbard in 3rd place. Grace Mangelsen (Siren, Wis./Siren) represented UNW in the throwing field as she launched the discus 29.34 meters (96'3"), clobbering her throw from last week by nearly 5 meters (approx. 16').
After the Easter break, the Eagles will race at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, April 23rd.
