GREENVILLE, Ill. - The women's track and field team once again dominated at the SLIAC Outdoor Championships, taking the crown with a team score of 262. The Panthers collected nine first-place event finishes with several other podium finishes.
How it Happened:
Arielle Lawrence kicked it off on Friday with a gold medal finish in the hammer, throwing for 46.64m.
Aizquel Hernandez also added to the team score in hammer, collecting three points with her sixth-place finish.
In the javelin, freshman
Rebekkah Yunck took first with a 40.40m throw, giving the Panthers ten points.
The Panthers also had notable performances from
Katie Farrow and Avalos in the pole vault with Farrow taking second place (3.05m) and Avalos (2.30m) placing fourth.
In the triple jump,
Madison Kacevicius took the silver with a jump of 10.95m and
Jada Richards contributed in the fourth-place spot (10.68m).
Brittnee Lange had an impressive day, placing fifth in the shot put and sixth in the discus.
On the track,
Alexis Martinez (19:45.49),
Alivia Clayton (21:06.53), and
Savanna Hulbert represented GU in the 5K. Martinez took first, while Clayton and Hulbert placed fifth and seventh respectively. Martinez also picked up a silver finish in the 10K with a time of 41:02.00.
The 4x100 team of Kacevicius,
Lera Schmeink,
Jada Richards, and Abby Weishaar showed out with their first place performance (48.91). Kacevicius also picked up another top finish in the 100m hurdles (15.40), while
Mia Bellegante followed right behind in second (16.59).
Weishaar added another gold performance, picking up first in the 400m dash (59.69), and her sister, Gabby Weishaar, took second with a time of 1:00.24. Abby also picked up a second-place finish in the 200m dash, running a 26.35.
In the 1500m, the Panthers swept the top four spots, as
Norah Atkins took first with a time of 4:52.97.
Natali Roth,
Lydia Cahill, and
Raven Vance followed in suit. This group, in addition to
Lauren Haacke, filled the top spots in the 800m. Atkins collected another first place finish (2:26.38), while Roth, Haacke, Cahill, and Vance each added to the impressive team score.
Trinity Wade took third in the 400m hurdles, posting a 1:10.23 for six points, while Avalos followed in fifth place (1:15.10).
In the 3000m steeplechase,
Lola Schlarmann took second with a time of 13:18.21.
The 4x400 team (Weishaar, G., Roth, Atkins, Weishaar, A.) closed out the meet with a ten-point performance at first place, collecting a time of 4:06.63.
With their amazing performances, Atkins earned Women's Track Athlete of the Year, while Abby Weishaar picked up the Women's Track Freshman of the Year. The Panthers coaching staff collected Coaching Staff of the Year honors, and
Jazmyn Harmon earned a spot on the All-Sportsmanship team.
Up Next:
The Panthers compete at the NCCAAs in two weeks, starting on Wednesday, May 6th.
