WILMORE, Ky. - The University of Northwestern Women's Track and Field Team represented the UMAC at the Outdoor NCCAA National Championships on Thursday evening. Northwestern's All-Conference winners and top performers took to the track and field for UNW at the meet. After the conclusion of the second day, the Eagles finished ninth out of 21 teams thanks to a trio of third-place finishes and a trio of fourth-place finishes. 

DAY ONE:

Lily Hubbard's (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) high jump performance opened the day for the women's team. She finished in eighth place with her best jump of 1.52m (4' 11.75").

In the first track event for the Eagles, standout freshman Alaina Wojtowski (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian) placed second in her heat in the preliminary race for the 100-meter dash. Her time of 12.46 was fast enough for a third-place overall finish. She will compete in the final tomorrow.

Katie Shilts (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) rounded out Thursday's events in the long jump. She placed 10th with her best jump of 4.78m (15'8.25")

DAY TWO:

The Eagles came back to the field for the final day of competition at the NCCAA National Championships. UNW placed third in three events for three All-American titles, while three athletes placed fourth. 

Wojtowski led the way with a third-place finish in the women's 100m, clocking a time of 12.55 to score six points for the Eagles. With her podium finish, the freshman also earned NCCAA All-American honors to add to her impressive freshman campaign. Fellow freshman Shilts added another All-American performance in the triple jump, placing third with a mark of 10.49m (34' 5") to earn six points. Shilts later teamed up with Emily Neumann (St. Agusta, Minn./Sauk Rapids), Lidia Castro (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South), and Wojtowski to place seventh in the 4x100m relay with a time of 50.47.

In the middle-distance events, Emery Maki (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) turned in a strong performance in the 800m, finishing third overall in 2:16.87 to add six more points for the Eagles. Her finish also secured NCCAA All-American recognition. Maki also ran on the Eagles' 4x400m relay team alongside Neumann, Castro, and Shilts, as the quartet placed ninth in 4:17.57.

The distance crew added valuable points as Natalie Van De Riet (Albertville, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) placed fourth in the 5000m with a time of 18:25.89, while Caroline Ringsmuth took fourth in the 3000m steeplechase in 12:16.36. Both performances earned five team points.

In the field events, senior Emily Ashton (Camas, Wash./St. Mary's Academy) delivered a fourth-place finish in the javelin throw with a mark of 34.29m (112' 6"), adding another five points for Northwestern.