The Charger’s women’s track and field team trekked to Youngston University for the third meet of the indoor season. The Chargers came up against tough competition and some conference opponents they will see again down the road.
“The meet was okay,” head coach Andrew Towne. “It was our first big meet in terms of seeing good performances and competing against bigger schools. Some of that we handled well, some we didn’t.”
In the field, the team continued to experience success led by sophomore Nikita Maines. In the shot put, Maines threw 13.86 meters which placed her sixth. Her teammate Michaela Burkhauseer ended 11th with a throw of 12.83 meters. In the weight throw, Maines placed ninth with a throw of 15.85 meters. Burkhauser ended 17th tossing 15.06 meters. Coach Towne said Maines did a good job and awarded her the team’s female athlete of the week award. Maines said, “My performance last week just showed that I am not even close to knowing how far I’ll throw later in the season.”
Freshman Emily Gerdin competed in triple and long jump. She jumped 10.37 meters in the triple and placed 14th and finished 27th in the triple jump with a leap of 4.99 meters.
On the track, the Chargers put forth a good effort and brought some people to the top of their events. In the 200 meter dash, junior Kajsa Johansson lead the team and ended runner-up with a time of 24.99. She was followed by freshman Jillian Roney who ended 21st running the race in 26.35 seconds. Junior Carmen Botha also competed in the event and ran it in 27.51 seconds.
In the 400 meter dash, Alanna O’Leary ended 11th running 59.11. She was followed by Judith Allison who ran in 1:00.17 to end in 18th.
Calli Townsend led the Chargers in the 800 meter run with a seventh place finish and a time of 2:17.34. Freshman Dakota Stamm followed her ending 16th with a time of 2:20.83.
The Chargers put together a strong showing in the 3000 meter run. Sophomore Sophie Maeda led the pack coming in second place overall with a time of 10:04.09. Christina Sawyer ended with a time of 10:14.40 to take seventh place. Senior Arena Lewis and freshman Gwyne Riley ran for 12th and 13th place, respectively. Sophomore Claire McNally placed 17th (10:31.58).
To end the day’s competition, the Chargers 4×400 meter relay placed fourth with a time of 3:58.54. The team was made of Stamm, O’Leary, Botha, and Allison. Botha said, “I was so proud of the girls that ran with me in the 4×400. We gave our all after a long day of events. It’s satisfying being a part of a team that fights to do their best at every meet.”
Towne said the team needs to make “championship decisions” if they want to see more success farther along in the season.