OXFORD, Ohio -- The Western Michigan track and field team opened its outdoor season by competing at the Miami (OH) Blizzard Buster. The Broncos had some strong outings, including a pair of wins from
Makayla Perez and
Grace Johnson.
Perez opened competition by claiming first place in the 1,500-meter run. Her time of 4:35.87 was nearly three seconds better than the second-place finisher.
Katelyn Spooner was also terrific in the event, earning a fifth-place finish by crossing the finish line in a time of 4:44.85.
Madison Zarembski finished 24th with a time of 5:08.65.
Following that, Johnson was able to keep the the strong start going by taking first in the 100-meter hurdles. Johnson had a time of 14.40. After that,
LaJeanee' Porter was able to finish 26th in the 400-meter dash, collecting a time of 1:07.96.
Competing in the 100-meter dash was
Anichka Malachi, and she was able to post a 21st-place finish by recording a time of 13.21. WMU had a pair of athletes competing in the 3,000-meter run, with
Brooke Soper (10:50.79) finishing 26th and
Delaney Knoll (10:57.14) placing 28th.
To round out the day on the track,
Claira Gilchrist competed in the 400-meter hurdles. Gilchrist was able to grab third place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.97.
In the field,
Lily Kucharek kicked off the outdoor season with a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw. Her top mark of the afternoon was 45.98 meters.
Ashley Shipps placed 13th in the javelin, recording a mark of 20.66 meters.
Western Michigan had three top-10 performers in shot put, with
Tess Van Dyk leading the way in third place. Her top mark was 13.21 meters. Following her was
Lane Hagens, who finished sixth with a throw of 12.13 meters.
Kennedy Hagens collected ninth place with a mark of 11.48 meters. Rounding out the field events was
Lane Hagens, who finished sixth in the discus with a throw of 39.59 meters.
Western Michigan will compete again next weekend at the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State.
CATALDO'S COMMENTS
"It was a cold, windy day, so times/marks went out the window. We just focused on what we could control and competing. I thought we did a good job of that and had a lot of support for each other from each event group, which was great to see."
