Women's Track & Field | February 23, 2017
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan track and field team heads to Eastern Michigan University this weekend for the pinnacle of its 2017 indoor season, the Indoor Mid-American Conference Championships, beginning on Friday.
The Broncos return four student-athletes that scored points and won events at the 2016 Indoor MAC Championships. Junior Ayiana Gaines will defend her title in the 400-meter dash, a race that she has not lost at any of the four indoor and outdoor MAC Championships that she has competed at so far in her career. Senior sprinter Sarita Dotson also returns to defend her 200-meter dash crown. The two of them, in addition to Naiomi Dulaney also set to defend the 4x400-meter relay title with Lindsey Hufnagel joining the squad.
Overall, Western Michigan will have athletes competing in 16 events
60-meter Dash
Dulaney, Dotson and freshman Madison Meredith have all qualified in the 60-meter dash. Last year Dotson finished third and Dulaney finished in eighth in the event. Meredith has the top qualifying time among the three at 7.59 seconds, ranking her sixth going into Friday's preliminaries. Dulaney is ranked just outside of scoring position, the top eight, in 10th after a qualifying time of 7.63 seconds. Dotson is ranked 15th at 7.68.
60-meter Hurdles
Seniors Hufnagel and Jade McKnight and freshman Gabrielle Collins will compete in the 60-meter hurdles preliminaries on Friday. Hufnagel is the highest ranked of the trio after a seed time of 8.75 seconds to place her 13th overall.
200-meter Dash
Dotson heads into her title defense seeded third with a time of 24.44 seconds. Dulaney and Meredith are also qualified for the preliminaries. Dulaney ranks 10th with a seed time of 24.83 and Meredith is ones spot behind her with a time of 24.85.
400-meter Dash
Gaines has the second-fastest time in the MAC heading into the preliminaries of the 400-meter dash at 55.02. Hufnagel and Davonne Bolden are also qualified in the event. Hufnagel is seeded seventh at 55.91 seconds, while Boldin sits 15th at 56.66.
800-meter Run
The Broncos have two youngsters set to compete in their first MAC Championships in the 800-meter run. Redshirt freshman Sarah Anderson has the better seed time of 2:12.36 for 11th overall. Freshman Holly Blowers sits in 19th with a time of 2:17.49.
Mile Run
Anderson is also the lone Bronco qualified in the mile run, a race she has won twice this season. Anderson is slotted in 10th with a seed time of 4:54.19 and is just over two seconds outside the scoring zone.
3,000-meter Run
Junior Hanne Christensen will compete in the 3,000-meter run. The Grand Blanc, MIch., native is seeded 17th overall with a time of 9:56.19. Christensen has recorded a personal-best time this season in the event and is separated by just 13 seconds from the scoring zone.
5,000-meter Run
Christensen will also be Western Michigan's lone competitor in the 5,000-meter run. She is seeded 12th overall with a time of 17:17.32.
4X400-meter Relay
The squad of Dotson, Hufnagel, Dulaney and Gaines holds the top ranking in the conference. WMU's time of 3:41.01 is 1.72 seconds faster than second-ranked Eastern Michigan. Last year the team combined for a time of 3:40.27 to blow past second-place Kent State.
Distance Medley
The Broncos will run a team of Amy Littlefield, Diajah Ruffin, Holly Blowers and Daya Wagh. WMU has not competed in the event this season and does not have a seed time. WMU finished in 10th at last season's MAC Championship in the distance medley.
High Jump
Western Michigan qualified two athletes for the high jump. The pair of sophomores Diana Holsey and Allison Hufnagel will compete in the event. Both have seed heights of 5' 3".
Long Jump
WMU qualified the maximum of three athletes in the long jump. Collins, Gaines and Holsey are all qualified, with Collins posting the top seed distance at 19' 3.25". The freshman ranks eighth in the MAC, while Gaines ranks 12th at 18' 8.25" and Holsey at 15th with a distance of 18' 5.25".
Triple Jump
Collins is also WMU's top qualifier in the triple jump with a seed distance of 38' 6". Just behind her in 12th is Ruffin, who finished seventh overall at last year's indoor MAC Championship. Jade McKnight also qualified with a distance of 36' 7.50".
Shot Put
Junior Savannah Dugan is the lone qualifier in the shot put. Dugan ranks in at 13th after throwing a personal-best distance of 46' 5.25",
Weight Throw
Dugan is also WMU's top qualifier in the weight throw with a distance of 54' 2". She is joined by Brittany Casey, who has a seed distance of 51' 10".
Pentathlon
Holsey and Allison Hufnagel get their second crack at the pentathlon on Friday. Both narrowly missed out on scoring last season. Holsey has a seed score of 3,022 and ranks ninth in the conference. Hufnagel is just behind her at 2.984.
