Women's Track & Field | April 08, 2018
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Western Michigan wrapped up the Gibson Invitational, hosted by Indiana State, on Saturday evening, finishing second overall in the meet.
The host Sycamores claimed the top spot with 263 points. WMU finished with 160.5, while Northern Iowa took third with 145. Milwaukee finished far behind in fourth with 54.5 points, while Bradley took fifth with 40 and Valparaiso in sixth with 26.
"We are getting really good efforts right now but our execution has left a little bit to be desired," said head coach Kelly Lycan. It was cold and there was a good wind blowing but we survived and still had some pretty good performances on the weekend."
Along with the second place finish, WMU came away with two meet records and a facility record. Sarah Anderson earned both the meet and facility record after winning the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:26.43. The facility record at Gibson Track had been 4:26.99, most recently set back in 2016. Senior Maria McDaniel also scored in the event, taking fifth overall with a time of 4:38.76.
The other meet record came courtesy of redshirt sophomore Gabrielle Collins in the long jump. Collins reached a distance of 18' 10.50" (5.75m) to take first place. Erica Sheahan took fourth place, while Diana Holsey and Diamond Mitchell took seventh and eighth. Collins and Holsy also combined for six total points in the 100-meter hurdles. Collins ran a time of 14.38 seconds for fifth, while Holsey finished in seventh with a time of 14.61.
WMU finished in the top three spots in the 400-meter hurdles. Erin Dowd earned the win with a time of 1:01.61, followed by Allison Hufnagel in second at 1:04.18 and Alex Bryant in third at 1:04.85. Freshman Clare Lycan also scored in the event, taking eight place.
Sophomore Madison Meredith took second overall in the 100-meter dash, breaking the 12 second mark with a time of 11.96 seconds. Mitchell finished in fifth and clocked in at 12.34. Senior Davonne Bolden won the 400-meter dash, running her second-fastest time of the season at 57.23 seconds. Kaniya Weatherspoon took third overall at 5884, while Jasmine McLemore took fifth with a time of 1:00.65.
Western Michigan's top performance in the throws came on Friday afternoon. Audrey Oswalt took second overall in the javelin, throwing a distance of 116' 10" (35.63m), a new career-best mark. Senior Brittany Casey was the top finisher in the hammer throw, taking fourth overall with a distance of 171' (52.12m). Four different Broncos finished in the top eight of the shot put, led by freshman Abena Atuobi. Atuobi took third overall with a top throw of 44' 3.75" (13.49m), just edging out teammate and senior Savannah Dugan, who finished fourth with a distance of 44' 2.50" (13.47m). Fellow freshmen Audrey Pickering and Wynn Stitt also scored, taking fifth and seventh respectively.
Western Michigan now heads down south to Alabama and Auburn University for the Tiger Track Classic on Friday and Saturday.
