Women's Track & Field | April 05, 2019
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan track and field team wrapped up the Jack Shaw Classic at the Kanley Track & Field Complex on Friday, winning the meet with 279 points.
The Broncos finished ahead of Central Michigan at 173, Milwaukee with 118 and Purdue Fort Wayne at 56. WMU won seven events on the day and had athletes produce 30 personal-best performances.
Sophomore Abena Atuobi got the Broncos on the board early in the shot put, winning the event with a distance of 45" 1" (13.74m). Freshman Madison Ochs finished just behind her in seventh place at 42' 3.50" (12.89m). Audrey Pickering finished in fourth place with a distance of 40' 1.50" (12.23m).
Senior Audrey Oswalt had WMU's other win in the throws, claiming the top spot in the javelin after a new personal-best distance of 148' 11" (45.40m). Freshman Olivia O'Brien also had a personal-best and took third place at 115' 9" (35.28m).
WMU took first and second place in the long jump. Junior Erica Sheahan claimed the top spot with a distance of 18' 2.50" (5.55m). She was followed by sophomore Diamond Mitchell with distance of 17' 8" (5.38m).
Western Michigan's final field event win came in the high jump. Senior Allison Hufnagel nearly matched her personal-best height of 5' 6" (1.68m) by winning at the height of 5' 5.25". Junior Erika DePierre finished in fourth place with a height of 5' 4.50" (1.64m).
The Broncos also had strong performances in the discus and in the hammer throw. Sophomore Aniya Davis finished in second place in the discus after throwing a personal-best distance of 152' 5" (46.46m). Ochs finished right behind her, also with a personal-best distance of 149' 5" (45.55m) to take third. Sophomore Audrey Pickering was WMU's top performance in the hammer throw, reaching a distance of 163' 5" (49.82m) to take third.
Over in the running events, Western Michigan took first in the 1,500-meter run, the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay. Sarah Anderson kept up her good form by winning the 1,500 with a time of 4:28.10, while junior Alex Bryant won the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:04.68. Freshman Taylor Rucker finished right behind Bryant in second place with a time of 1:05.80. WMU's 4x400 team ran its fastest time of the season, winning the event with a time of 3:48.31.
Junior Madison Meredith was just edged out in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a time of 11.98 seconds, .02 behind CMU's Nadia Williams. Meredith also scored in the 200-meter dash, finishing in third place with a time of 25.02 seconds. Junior Erin Dowd finished ahead of her in second place with a time of 24.86. The time was a personal-best for Dowd and her second of three second-place finish on the day. Dowd was also the runner up in the 400-meter dash, finishing with a time of 55.10 seconds and the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.48.
Haley Ritsema finished second overall in the 800-meter run after running a time of 2:16.67, while Cheryl White took third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:44.30.
Western Michigan heads to Muncie, Ind., for the Ball State Challenge on Friday and Saturday.
