Women's Track & Field | May 13, 2017
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Senior Lindsey Hufnagel went out on top, claiming the Mid-American Conference title in the 400-meter hurdles on the final day of the 2017 MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Kanley Track and Field Complex on Saturday.
WMU finished in eight place after scoring 53 points, while Akron claimed both the men's and women's championships.
Hufnagel was named First Team All-MAC for her efforts, she was also a part of the second-place 4x100-meter relay team along with Sarita Dotson, Madison Meredith and Naiomi Dulaney. Dotson, Dulaney and Meredith were named Second Team All-MAC. WMU's other Second Team All-MAC honoree was senior Jordan Anderson. Anderson took second in the 800-meter run in her final time around the track in competition at Kanley.
Hufnagel set the Kanley Track record in the 400-hurdles after running a time of 58.40 seconds, also a new personal best. The Fowler, Mich., native got off to a good start and battled with Akron's Jaclyn Siefring from the get go. Siefring was slightly ahead down the final stretch but Hufnagel leaned in and got the win by .03 seconds. Fellow senior Keyera Lige wrapped up her career with her best performance and took sixth with a time of 1:01.31.
"Lindsey and Jordan, our two six-year seniors, it's an amazing story with those two battling back from so many injuries," said head coach Kelly Lycan. "With Lindsey, for that race, the way she won it is funny. We practice finishing strong off the last hurdle all the time. She saw the girl from Akron, who is an amazing athlete, and I think she just smelled blood in the water and wasn't going to lose."
Hufnagel, Dotson, Meredith and Dulaney combined for a time of 45.74 seconds to take second place, just edging out Akron. Dotson ran the first leg to keep the Broncos in the middle of the pack before handing it off to Meredith. Meredith, who also finished seventh in the 100-meter dash, moved the Broncos toward the front of the pack before handing it off to Dulaney. Dulaney kept WMU in fourth place and handed it off to Hufnagel for the anchor leg. The senior was able to overtake Kent State and Akron before crossing the line.
Anderson had to battle through some hardship on the weekend, on top of the injuries throughout her career. After getting tripped up in the 800 and making the finals via an appeal, she came out and took second place in the 800 after running a personal-best of 2:08.33.
Sarah Anderson, no relation, also scored for WMU in the 1,500-meter run. The redshirt freshman ran a personal-best time of 4:31.28 to take fifth place and earn four points. The points were the first of her career at an outdoor MAC Championship. Also scoring for the first time in her career was fellow redshirt freshman Gabrielle Collins. Collins took seventh in the 100-meter hurdles after running a time of 14.11 seconds.
WMU wrapped up the meet with a third place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. Dotson, Jordan Anderson, Davonne Bolden and Hufnagel combined to run a time of 3:42.36.
