SUPERIOR, Wis. - After an incredible record-breaking first day at the Outdoor UMAC Track and Field Championships, the University of Northwestern Women's Team decided to break two more records, along with several meet and facility records, on top of the 26 personal and season records they achieved. UNW finished fourth overall with 110 points.

DAY ONE:

Day one of the UMAC Outdoor Championships brought three program record-breaking performances and strong scoring efforts for the University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field team, as the Eagles currently sit in fourth place with 43 points heading into the final day tomorrow.

Two Eagles rewrote their own names in the program record book. Freshman Alaina Wojtowski (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) continued her standout season by breaking both of her own school records in the sprints, running 12.40 in the 100m prelims, surpassing her previous 12.45 record set on March 30th, before capturing the 200m title in 25.74, recording another program record, lowering her previous records of 26.03 and wind-aided 25.83.

In the distance events, Caroline Stokes (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) also reset the standard in the 3000m steeplechase. The senior crossed in 12:02.47, breaking her own program record of 12:17.20 set last season while finishing fourth and adding key team points. Jessica Redman (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) joined her in scoring position with a sixth-place, personal-best time of 12:46.51, while Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy) also recorded a personal best in the event.

The Eagles found additional success in the 800m, where Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) delivered a meet-record performance of 2:17.20 to place fourth and score five points. Kimberlyn Case added a season-best 2:33.93, while Mariah Klippenes (South Haven, Minn./Annandale) and Samary Acuna (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) contributed to a strong showing in the event with personal records of their own, 2:36.58 and 2:38.27, respectively.

In the field, Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) led the way for the Eagles with a fourth-place finish in the javelin, throwing 34.52m (113' 3") to earn five points. Katie Shilts (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) put together a versatile day, scoring in the 200m with a personal-best 26.96, qualifying in the 100m prelims with a personal best time of 13.07, and adding a point in eighth place in the long jump with a distance of 4.87m (15' 11.75"). 

Emily Neumann (St. Agusta, Minn./Sauk Rapids) chipped in four points with a fifth-place finish in the 200m with her finish of 27.02, while Lidia Castro (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) also turned in a solid sprint performance in the 200m, crossing the line in 27.39. Grace Mangelsen (Siren, Wis./Siren) rounded out the field events and represented the Eagles with a throw of 8.47m (27' 9.50") in the shot put.

Northwestern also picked up points in the 4x800m relay, as the team of  Case, Cheyanne Scalese, Klippenes, and Natalie Van De Riet (Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) placed fourth.

DAY TWO:

Lily Hubbard (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) opened the day with a solid performance in the high jump. After not performing to her own expectations in February at the Indoor Championships, she was locked in for the event today. The sophomore took four jumps and cleared each height on her first attempt, all the way to a new PR of 1.55m (5' 0"), two inches higher than she's ever jumped before. Her new PR pushed her to a second-place podium finish in the UMAC.

In the first track event, Shilts, Neumann, Castro, and Wojtowski broke the fourth UNW Program Record of the weekend. The team edged out Crown College for the win in the 4x100 relay while also collecting a new UMAC Outdoor Championship meet record, facility record, and UNW Program Record with their time of 49.54. The UNW record was set in 2024 at 50.04 by Alvine Njounang (Virginia, Minn./Grand Rapids), Deanna Trucksess, Lydia Rieschl, and Grace Moravchik (Mason, Wis./Ashland).

Later in the afternoon, in the 100m finals, Wojtowski rocketed out of the blocks and cruised to another school record, meet record, and facility record. Her time of 12.26 was two-tenths faster than she ran the same distance yesterday, and was two-tenths faster than the second-place runner. She also broke the top 100 rankings in NCAA DIII. This is the fourth time this season that the freshman has broken the 100-meter dash record. With this win and record, she completed a sweep of her events in the conference, winning and breaking the school record in all four of her races, three of which were finals. The freshman turned in 30 points for the Eagles' team total. Also in the 100-meter finals was Shilts. Shilts joined the PR party as the freshman lowered her best time to 13.51. She finished fifth to add four team points.

Maki also turned in a career performance, breaking her personal best time in the 1500m, finishing second in the conference with 4:49.76, almost 1.5 seconds faster than her previous best set last season. Maki also raced as the third leg in the 4x400 relay along with Neumann, Castro, and Shilts. They pushed to a second-place, season-best finish with a time of 4:10.91. Neumann and Castro also raced in the open 400, finishing seventh and 13th with times of 1:02.18 and 1:04.66, respectively. Neumann's time was a new PR by 0.7 seconds. After Maki in the 1500m, seven more Eagles participated. Scalese crossed with a personal record of 5:08.60 in 10th. Stokes placed 12th with a time of 5:18.01. Acuna, Chloe Zimmerman (Helena, Mont./Capital), Case, Olivia Usselman (Stillwater, Minn./Math and Science Academy), and Kennedy Van De Riet (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) placed 15th, 16th, 17th, 19th, and 23rd, each setting a new personal best.

Shilts and Hubbard competed in the triple jump, finishing fifth and 10th. Shilts jumped 10.19m (33' 5.25"), while Hubbard jumped 9.24m (30' 3.75"). Continuing in the non-track events, Mangelsen and Ashton threw the discus. Mangelsen threw a season best of 30.75m (100' 10), breaking the 100-foot mark for ninth place. Ashton also threw a season-best mark of 29.20(95' 9") for 12th place.

In the 5000m, Van De Riet endured the 12 and a half laps and brought home a second-place finish in 19:05.32. After Van De Riet, Scalese crossed the finish line in fifth with a new personal best time of 19:40.27. Scalese dropped over 12 seconds from her previous record. Alicia Arredondo (Robbinsdale, Minn./Homeschool) and Torah Barrett (Belle Plaine, Minn./Jordan) also competed in the 5000m, placing eighth and 11th with finishes of 20:33.79 and 22:05.50, respectively.

The Eagles will then continue their postseason run at the NCCAA National Championships on May 7-8 in Wilmore, Kentucky.