Seniors Emily Oren and Kristina Perkins ran strong openers to their final outdoor track seasons at Hillsdale, with Oren placing third in the fast heat of the Stanford Invitational Steeplechase and Perkins breaking a 30-year-old school record in the 10K with her 34:05.75 personal-best time.
Junior Molly Oren and sophomore Hannah McIntyre also had impressive races at Stanford. Molly Oren is ranked second behind her sister, Emily Oren, in the NCAA D-II steeplechase, while McIntyre is ranked sixth in the 10K, three spots behind Perkins.
The rest of the women competing last weekend ran the Miami Duals in Oxford, Ohio. Although high winds eventually ended competition before all the events were done, the meet had a number of positive results, including sophomore Dana Newell’s provisional qualifying mark of 52.93 meters in the hammer throw.
Head distance coach Joe Lynn was pleased with how his athletes opened at Stanford, but isn’t getting too excited about performances this early in the season.
“It was a good weekend,” Lynn said. “But at this point in the year, it’s important to not get too worked up about results, whether they’re really good or not where we wanted to be.”
For her efforts at Stanford, Emily Oren was named the GLIAC Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week.
Her time of 9:58.99 wasn’t her personal best time, but was still good enough to be the fourth-fastest time in D-II history. Oren also owns the fastest steeplechase time in D-II history.
“I felt like I was on that level now, where I’d go in and try to win,” Oren said. “And that the time I ran, it felt real easy for me, so that was a big confidence booster.”
Oren said that her race at Stanford provided valuable experience for racing the steeplechase because, unlike many of her previous races where she was the best athlete in the event, she had to use racing tactics to stay competitive with other racers in the field, instead of just racing the clock.
Oren also admitted that she would have liked to run faster, preferably sub-9:53, so that she could have qualified for the United States Olympic Trials happening later this summer.
Perkins said she wasn’t even thinking about the school record as she prepared for her race.
“Breaking the record was a lot of fun too. I wanted to get any record really,” Perkins said. “My goal coming into the race — I didn’t even think about breaking the 10K record — was just to break 34 minutes.”
Although Perkins and McIntyre may not run the 10K again until the national meet, Perkins is confident they can compete with the best distance runners in Division II.
“I don’t feel like I’ve run up to my full potential,” Perkins said.
Before poor weather ended the meet in Miami, Ohio, a number of athletes on the women’s team were able to put up solid performances.
Junior Allison Duber placed third in the 400-meter dash, breaking 60 seconds on gusty winds. Senior Emily Guy placed fifth in the event.
The 4×100 relay team placed second at the meet, running the distance in 48.17 seconds.
Junior Madison Estell won the triple jump with a mark of 11.46 meters.
“I think the team in general is excited for the season because we saw what we did indoors, and since we came so close to winning, I think everyone has got the fire in their belly, like we want to get after it outdoors,” Oren said. “So I’m excited to see what happens this outdoor season.”
One of the two meets scheduled for this weekend — Michigan State University’s Spartan Invitational in East Lansing — has been cancelled, but at press time, some of the team is still scheduled to travel down to Miami, Florida, for the Hurricane Alumni Invitational at the University of Miami.
