Sets school record in 60-meter hurdles
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – On the first day of the GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, Ellyse Wolfrath set a school record in the 60m hurdles, a handful of finals took place, and select preliminaries commenced to set the stage for tomorrow.
In the 60m hurdle preliminary race, senior Ellyse Wolfrath one-upped herself yet again, breaking her own school record with a time of 8.46 (previously 8.52, set last season). That time smashed her previous season-high of 8.59 and vaulted her into the nation’s top 10 times, currently sitting in a tie for 9th.
Heading into Sunday, the Wildcats sit in a tie with Parkside for second place with 29 points. Grand Valley leads with 57 while Saginaw Valley (26) and Wayne State (22) round out the current top-five.
Pentathlon
Four ‘Cats competed in the five-event pentathlon in a field of 18. Eva Zonca took 4th with 2,969 points, Natasha Nowakowski followed in 5th with 2,902 points, Grace Wolfe slotted in behind her with 2,859 points for 6th, and Elizabeth Simpson placed 9th with 2,694 points.
Zonca earned a pair of third place finishes in the five events: 60m hurdles (9.42) and the 800m (2:34.67). Nowakowski placed second on the shot put (9.97m).
Finals
The Wildcats finished 4th and 5th in the long jump for nine points. Crystal Walker hit a distance of 5.51m followed by Sofi Diop at 5.47m.
Teiolla Harvey added a point for the Wildcats in the weight throw, finishing in 8th with a distance of 14.21m. Alizabeth Little placed 11th with a mark of 13.50m and Caterina Thelen was 18th at 11.93m.
The distance medley relay (DMR) team of Lamar Gordon, Lana Mac, Beverly Harper, and Emma Sweeney took 5th place, crossing at 12:14.73.
NMU had four runners in the longest event, the 5,000m. Sophia Potter placed 7th with a time of 17:52.78, Skylar Grubb followed in 8th with a time of 17:54.57, Dan VanLente was 9th at 17:55.96, and Claire Waligorski finished in 13th with a time of 18:35.16. NMU earned three points in the event.
Preliminaries
The Wildcats took three of the top four qualification spots in the 60m hurdles. Ellyse Wolfrath ran the top time of 8.46, which broke her own school record and sits as the 9th best time in the country this season. Crystal Walker followed with 8.76 and Sofi Diop earned a qualification spot with a time of 8.87.
In the 400m, Ahna Larson was 10th and Ciara Ostrenga 11th with times of 58.10 and 58.29, respectively. Both fell just short of qualifying for tomorrow’s final.
Up Next
The second and final day of the GLIAC Championships takes place on Sunday, with action beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the field and 12:15 p.m. on the track.
