LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Western Michigan track and field team concluded its outdoor regular season at the Clark Wood Invitational, hosted by Louisville, earlier today. The meet was headlined by
Elli Stender moving into eighth place in program history in the javelin. In just her third time competing in the event, she posted a mark of 31.16 meters.
The Broncos opened the field events on Friday with the hammer throw, as
Lily Kucharek and
Kennedy Hagens competed for WMU. Kucharek placed 15th with a throw of 46.17 meters, while Hagens grabbed 25th with a mark of 36.54 meters.
Following that,
Anichka Malachi collected 14th place in the long jump, posting a jump of 5.53 meters. In the discus,
Tess Van Dyk paced the Broncos, posting a throw of 41.01 meters. That was good for 12th place. Behind her were
Lane Hagens and Stender.
Lane Hagens had a mark of 39.97 meters to finish 15th, while Stender placed 21st with a throw of 35.98 meters.
The 800-meter run kicked off the track events on Friday afternoon, with
Maggie Raab grabbing 11th place with a time of 2:14.22.
LaJeanee' Porter was 26th with a time of 2:23.22, while
Madison Zarembski finished 29th in a time of 2:29.07.
In the 400-meter hurdles,
Claira Gilchrist was able to cross the finish line in 12th place, posting a time of 1:05.58.
Ahvon Mitchell was right behind her in 13th place, recording a time of 1:06.85. To conclude Friday's action,
Brooke Soper took fifth in the 5,000-meter run, crossing the finish line in a time of 17:41.12.
On Saturday, Van Dyk,
Lane Hagens and
Kennedy Hagens took part in the shot put. Van Dyk paced the Bronco athletes, notching 11th place with a mark of 12.66 meters.
Lane Hagens (15th) had a throw of 11.95 meters and
Kennedy Hagens (16th) finished with a mark of 11.71 meters.
WMU placed three runners in the top 25 in the 1,500-meter run, as
Katelyn Spooner placed 17th (4:41.43), Raab took 20th (4:44.94) and
Alayna Ostling nabbed 25th (4:56.94). Following that,
Grace Johnson had a fantastic outing in the 100-meter hurdles. She finished second with a time of 13.72.
To conclude the meet,
Paisley Sipes placed eighth in the 3,000-meter run, collecting a time of 11:02.16.
Next up, the Broncos will head to Akron for the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Competition is set for May 11-13.
CATALDO'S COMMENTS
"The team did well this weekend. We had a lot of personal best marks which is what we like to see as we head in to the championship portion of the season. Elli finding her way into the top 10 in school history in just her third time in the javelin was excellent and Ani getting a wind legal mark in the long jump was big for us.
Maggie Raab had a big weekend with personal best marks in the 800 and 1500. I also have to mention
Brooke Soper dropping 24 seconds off her 5k, that was a great performance. As a group, we're going to take this next week and make any necessary adjustments as we prepare for the MAC Championships in two weeks."
