ST. PAUL, Minn. - The University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field team put together a strong showing this week, returning to Macalester College for the second day of the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational on Saturday. Collectively, the team finished 5th out of 17 teams with 43 points.
Leading the way for the Eagles,
Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) delivered one of the top performances of the day with a 2nd place finish in the javelin throw, recording a mark of 33.29m (209' 2") to score eight team points. Ashton also competed in the discus, finishing 31st.
Also claiming a runner-up finish was
Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing), who placed 2nd in the 400m with a personal-best time of 59.67. Her personal best shaved 2.01 seconds off her previous best and was only four-tenths away from the UNW program record.
Emily Neumann (St. Agusta, Minn./Sauk Rapids) joined Maki in the open 400 and recorded a personal best time as well in 7th place with a 1:02.92 finish. Maki and Neumann also raced in one of the 4x400 teams, placing 3rd with a time of 4:16.91 alongside
Lidia Castro (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) and
Katie Shilts (Cameron, Wis./Cameron). Adding depth in the 4x400,
Cheyanne Scalese (Lancaster, Minn./Lancaster Public),
Torah Barrett (Belle Plaine, Minn./Jordan),
Jessica Redman (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam), and
Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy) raced to a 7th-place finish, clocking a time of 4:52.14. Earlier in the meet, Castro, Neumann, and Shilts teamed up with
Alaina Wojtowski (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) in the 4x100 relay, finishing 3rd in 50.38 seconds.
In the middle-distance 800-meter race, Scalese paced the Eagles, finishing 13th with a personal best time of 2:32.68, which is over three seconds faster than she has ever run the event.
Kimberlyn Case (Sleepy Eye, Minn./Litchfield) and
Mariah Klippenes (South Haven, Minn./Annandale) also raced in the 800, recording season-best times of 2:34.24 and 2:38.20 for 16th and 18th-place finishes, respectively. Nearly twice the distance, in the 1500m,
Caroline Stokes (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) recorded a personal best finish of 5:14.97 in 15th place.
In the field,
Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) had a standout day, placing 3rd in the high jump, tying her season-best clearance of 1.50m (4' 11"). Hubbard also competed in the triple jump, for a 14th finish with her distance of 9.42m (30' 11"0). Shilts also contributed in multiple events, placing 8th in both the long jump (4.84m) and triple jump (9.96m), scoring points for the Eagles in each event.
Yesterday,
Natalie Van De Riet (Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) turned in a strong distance performance, finishing 6th in the 5000m with a personal-best time of 18:36.98, dropping nearly 40 seconds from her previous best, earning the first three points for the Eagles.
Other Notable Performances:
Torah Barrett (Belle Plaine, Minn./Jordan) personal best in the 1500m (5:43.24)
Kimberlyn Case (Sleepy Eye, Minn./Litchfield) season best in the 800m (2:34.24)
Grace Mangelsen (Siren, Wis./Siren) season best in the discus (29.74m | 97' 7")
Redman personal best in the 1500m (5:17.59)
Usselman season best in the 1500m (5:43.25)
Kennedy Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) personal best in the 1500m (6:31.83)
Chloe Zimmerman (Helena, Mont./Capital) personal best in the 1500m (5:40.20)
Northwestern wrapped up its final meet before the UMAC Track and Field Championships in Superior, Wisconsin, next weekend. The meet will begin on Friday, May 1, and will run until Saturday afternoon.
